stevens indicator fall 2021
TRANSCRIPT
FALL 2021 THE MAGAZINE OF THE STEVENS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
IN THIS ISSUE: A 10-YEAR TRANSFORMATION | PROMINENT PEN PALS | THE SOUND OF MOBILITY
BRILLIANT, BRAVE AND BOLD
Stevens Alumnae: Portraits of Leadership
DEPARTMENTS 2 PRESIDENT’S LETTER
3 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
4 GRIST FROM THE MILL
7 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
30 ON POINT Successful alumni offer career
advice and insights in this new magazine department that will feature a variety of stories from all four of Stevens’ schools
37 SPORTS UPDATE Ph.D. student Gina Dello Russo ’20 M.S. '21 wins the NCAA Division III 400-meter national championship
38 OUT OF THE ARCHIVES: A POWERFUL FRIENDSHIP A letter from Frances Perkins, the first female U.S. Secretary of Labor, reveals her close relationship with a Stevens family member in this new Indicator department
40 CAMPAIGN BY THE NUMBERS The largest campaign in Stevens’ history comes to a spectacularly successful close, raising $200.6 million for the university
43 ALUMNI NEWS/CLASS LOGS
44 SAA PRESIDENT’S LETTER
62 VITALS
FEATURES 8 A STAR ON THE RISE
A look at Stevens' extraordinary 10-year transformation
12-29 BRILLIANT, BRAVE AND BOLD
14 PASSIONATE PURSUIT Jean Savitsky '85 leads $450 million MoMA expansion
16 A MATTER OF PRIVACY Maggie Gloeckle M.S. ’95 heads global data security efforts for A+E Networks
18 KEEPING TRANSIT ON TRACK Lisbeth Concho M.S. ’09 Ph.D. ’13 uses a systems approach to help agencies manage essential transportation infrastructure
20 FROM THE LAB INTO THE BOTTLE Sabrina Henry ’09 M.Eng. ’11 steers many of the products you know and love as a principal scientist and R&D manager at Johnson & Johnson
22 BEHIND THE MUSIC Allyson Vecchione ’09 keeps live broadcast and taped events flowing smoothly
24 “FLEXIBLE, ADAPTABLE AND DETERMINED” SUNY Maritime College Provost Jennifer Kehl Waters M.Eng. ’93 Ph.D. ’95 reflects on managing the challenging role of “first woman” throughout her career
26 “JUST SAY ‘YES’” Dr. Darshana Manji Dadhania ’93 wears many hats as a top nephrol-ogist at NewYork Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center
28 WIDENING THE PIPELINE As president of IEEE-USA, Kate Duncan ’98 M.Eng. ’99 leads the organization that’s nurtured her career
29 SGA MAKES HISTORY, WITH WOMEN TAKING THE LEAD Students elect the largest group of women to hold top spots in Stevens’ Student Government Association
34 TO THE BEAT OF THEIR OWN DRUM Professor Antonia Zaferiou studies the ways sound can help older adults maintain mobility
36, 42 IN MEMORIAM The Stevens community mourns the loss of two beloved faculty members, Sophia Hassiotis and Charles Suffel Hon. M.Eng. ’85
At right: Student leaders gather on campus during New Student Orientation on Aug. 29, 2021.
On the Cover: Lisbeth Concho M.S. ’09 Ph.D. ’13, photographed outside the Oculus at the World Trade Center Trans-portation Hub
Cover Photo: M. Cooper Cover Design: Simone Larson Design
2 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
The campus has come alive with the return of students, faculty and staff! As I write this message, I am thrilled and ener-gized to see students studying and playing frisbee on Palmer Lawn, faculty making their way to their classrooms and research labs, and colleagues helping our new students get oriented to their new home and to a new academic year.
This fall feels like a homecoming and a celebration, as does the cover story of this issue of The Indicator. This fall, we mark 50 years since a small number of undergrad-uate women first joined our campus. A half century later, I am proud that one-third of the Class of 2025 are women — a new re-cord, as is the size of the class itself, at ap-proximately 1,100 new students. In this issue, we highlight just a few of our many outstanding alumnae who are trailblazers and leaders in their fields.
I am also delighted to welcome Dr. Jianmin Qu as Stevens’ Pro-vost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Qu succeeds Dr. Christophe Pierre, who served with distinction as Provost since September 2016. Dr. Qu led transformative changes in education, research and entrepreneurship in his previous role as Dean of the School of Engineering and Karol Family Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Tufts University. His impressive record of achieve-ment as a teacher, researcher, scholar and academic administrator will help to ensure that Stevens continues on its upward trajectory for many years to come.
As our community has come together during a worldwide pan-demic, we also have united to ensure the bright future of Stevens. I am thrilled to report that this summer, the university success-fully concluded its $200 million fundraising campaign, The Power
of Stevens campaign, the most ambitious in our history. This success story is due entirely to the renewed engagement and sense of pride of so many members of our community. I am enormously proud of and grateful to all who contributed to this effort through their generosity of spirit, time and treasure.
Finally, July 1, 2021, marked the tenth anniversary of my appointment as Presi-dent of Stevens. My wife, Hoveida, and I are profoundly grateful that the Stevens community welcomed us with open arms, and we have truly cherished the opportu-nity to be a part of the remarkable prog-ress story of Stevens over the last decade. I invite you to read more about Stevens’ as-
cent over the past decade in this issue and at rise.stevens.edu, and I look forward to working with you to bring your alma mater to even greater heights in the years ahead.
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for contributing to this transformation. Stevens is a national treasure, and our star is on the rise.
Per aspera ad astra,
Nariman FarvardinPresident, Stevens Institute of [email protected]
FALL 2021: THE STEVENS STAR IS ON THE RISE
JOH
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PRESIDENT’S CORNER
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A L U M N I A S S O C I A T I O N
P E R A S P E R A A D A S T R A
FALL 2021, VOL. 142, NO. 2Editor
Beth Kissinger - [email protected]
Managing Editor
Erin Lewis - [email protected]
Interim Managing Editor - Kristin Hanson
Contributors
Kyla Buckingham - Stevens School of Engineering and Science
Claire Curry
Connor Durkin - Stevens College of Arts and Letters
Paul Karr - Stevens Division of University Relations
Garrett Kinkaid ‘22 Rachel Narozniak
Charles O’Brien - Stevens Athletics
Lisa Rouh
Alan Skontra - Stevens Office of Development and Alumni Engagement
Tracy Vogel
Art Direction/Design www.DanFlintDesign.comSimone Larson Design
Additional Art Direction/Design Michael Hofmann - Stevens Division of University Relations
Edward Yao - Director, Alumni Engagement, Stevens Office of Development and Alumni Engagement
Published by The Stevens Division of University Relations in cooperation with the Division of Development and Alumni Engagement
Indicator CorrespondenceThe Stevens Indicator 1 Castle Point Terrace Hoboken, NJ 07030 Phone: (201) 216-5161
Letters to the Editor [email protected]
Class Log submissions [email protected]
General SAA inquiries Contact the Alumni Office Phone: (201) 216-5163 Fax: (201) 216-8247 [email protected]
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
ON THE 150TH ISSUEI enjoyed the recent release of The Ste-
vens Indicator, Spring/Summer 2021 issue (the 150th anniversary issue). It shows the great legacy and diversity of my alma mater. I wanted to add that the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Stevens chapter was formed under my leadership, as its first president in my junior year in 1978. Rachel Jenkins ’80 was my vice president, and Ms. Deborah Minor was the faculty adviser. I also started the Stevens Track Club in my sophomore year. I served as coach and cap-tain, and intercollegiate meet coordinator. I recruited Adalberto Alonso ’83 M.S. ’83 to the team for cross-country and track, and I mentored him to be coach and captain after I graduated. As a half-miler, I set the school record for the half-mile at 2:03.9 in a meet at Ramapo College in 1980. Alonso went on to coach the cross-country and track teams after I graduated. — Ian Howe ’80
I recently marked the 70th anniversary of my graduation from “the Stute.” I’m happy to have the memorable 150th anniversary issue of The Indicator to bring back my recollec-tion of those years from 1947 to 1951! I fear only a few of us remain to recall those post-
WWII war years. While that Indicator issue celebrated the highly significant changes of the last 50 years at Stevens, and rightly so, I confess to being disappointed that almost no space was found to comment on the changes Stevens experienced during and right after World War II. The classic warning to incom-ing freshmen that only one in three would be around at commencement four years hence proved out-of-date to us who started in 1946 to 1948. A highly motivated, older student body was not willing to quit in the face of the challenge of the Stevens experi-ence. Perhaps a future issue of The Indicator could devote space to that time of change as well. It paved the way for a successful career for this graduate! — Alan Donaldson ’51
REMEMBERING PAUL STEFFEN ’57Paul Steffen ’57 — class president, reunion leader, scholarship benefactor and all-around Stevens stalwart — passed away last year. He left a lasting legacy of generosity, dedication and friendship at Stevens, as one of the truly outstanding volunteer leaders not only of his class but also among Stevens’ more than 50,000 alumni.
Paul Steffen, third from right, and Class of '57 friends at a past Old Guard Luncheon.
Ian Howe ’80, left, with Rachel Jenkins ’80 PHOTO COURTESY OF IAN HOWE
A tribute to Paul from his Stevens friends appears at stevens.edu/paul-steffen
4 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
STEVENS WELCOMES JIANMIN QU AS PROVOST AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
On Sept. 1, Jianmin Qu joined Stevens as provost and vice president for academic affairs. The university’s new chief academic officer previously served as dean of the School of Engineering and Karol Family Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Tufts University.
He succeeds Christophe Pierre, who has served with distinction in the role since 2016 and rejoins the faculty ranks.
“Dr. Qu’s impressive record of achievement positions him well to play a catalytic role as Stevens begins the development of its next strategic plan,” said President Nariman Farvardin.
At Tufts, Qu developed the engineering school’s first strategic plan and diversity and inclusion plan, secured a $10 million gift to create the Tufts Entrepreneurship Center and secured an $8 million gift to establish the Tufts Institute for Research on Learning and Instruction.
“We share a common interest in applying research to solve societal is-sues, and I am honored to be a part of Stevens’ continued upward trajec-tory,” Qu said of leading the Stevens faculty.
STEVENS, REAL MADRID GRADUATE SCHOOL LAUNCH COLLABORATION
This fall, the first cohort of graduate students enrolled in this new program, enjoying the opportunity to simultaneously pursue two master’s degrees in business and sports technologies from Stevens and the Real Madrid Graduate School-Universidad Europea in Spain. Students gain knowledge in the latest technologies used in sports, such as data analy-sis, virtual reality, blockchain and geolocation, while learning to apply the right strategies to achieve optimal performance. They will study both in Hoboken, New Jersey, and Madrid, Spain, and will have opportunities to intern with Real Madrid Next, a collaboration of start-up and established companies, and to learn from the professionals and managers of Real Madrid CF, one of the world’s most popular professional soccer clubs.
To learn more about this new partnership, visit stevens.edu/real-madrid
Read more about Stevens’ new provost at stevens.edu/new-provost
GRIST FROM THE MILL
HISTORIC CAMPAIGN CLOSES, SURPASSING TARGETStevens’ most ambitious fundraising campaign in its history concluded with $200
million raised, more than $50 million beyond its original goal. More than 14,000 do-nors made more than 45,000 distinct gifts to the campaign.
“This has been a campaign where the entire community has not only raised $200 million, but has truly come together,” said Laura Rose, vice president for development and alumni engagement. “They did so because they want to help fuel the next great advances, because they care about this university community and its tradition, and because they want to make a lasting impact on our campus.”
Learn more about the Power of Stevens campaign on page 40 and at stevens.edu/campaign-success
OUR CAMPAIGN.OUR IMPACT.
OUR CAMPAIGN.OUR IMPACT.
OUR CAMPAIGN.OUR IMPACT.
From left: Brian Rothschild, assistant dean of Graduate Studies, School of Business at Stevens; Laura Planells Bolant, founder & CEO, Linking Education; Gregory Prastacos, dean, School of Business; Chihoon Lee, asso-ciate dean of Graduate Studies, School of Business
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GRIST FROM THE MILL
DAVE JOSHI ’68 RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS JEFFERSON AWARD FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE IN NEW JERSEY
Dave Joshi ’68, a longtime voice for his South Plainfield, New Jersey, community, was named a recipient of the 2020 New Jersey State Gov-ernor’s Jefferson Award. For nearly 50 years, Joshi has hosted “Glimpse of India” on WRSU-FM, which has been nominated for the Longest Running Single Person-Hosted Radio Show title in the Guinness Book of World Records. Joshi is also one of the longest-serving members of the South Plainfield Election Board and has been a member of the South Plainfield Cultural Arts Commission and the Plainfield Recreation De-partment — among many other roles.
“Self-promotion has never crossed his mind,” read Joshi’s nomination. “He continually seeks out ways to continually educate, advance, and impact his peers and the generations to come.” v
Aisha (Crute) Lawrey ’99 was one of 120 women depicted in a five-month exhibit in Dallas promoting gender diver-sity in STEM sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Lydia Hill Founda-
tion. Lawrey’s statue honors her successful career as an engineering consultant and her advocacy work with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and
the National Action Council for Minorities. “Some companies and people don’t think diver-
sity in STEM is a serious issue, but the documented issues with bias in artificial intelligence, for exam-ple, show why it is,” Lawrey said. “Representation in these fields matters, because it creates momentum to examine and solve these kinds of issues.”
ALUMNA FEATURED IN ‘STANDING FOR STEM’ EXHIBIT IN DALLAS
YUE NING RECEIVES 2021 NSF CAREER AWARD
Stevens computer science professor Yue Ning has re-ceived a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the fifth granted to Stevens researchers this year. The prestigious CAREER Award benefits promising early-career investigators, typically supporting five years of ongoing research. Ning’s project will explore improved artificial intelligence-powered methods for predicting human events such as hospital visits, flu outbreaks, and mass protests. The project will generate new machine learning algorithms and advance techniques for data analytics in other domains, such as health care and so-cial science.
Earlier this year, civil engineering professor Weina Meng, electrical and computer engineering professor Hang Liu, software engineering researcher Lu Xiao, and sustainability design researcher Steven Hoffenson received CAREER Awards. To learn more about Okafor’s award,
visit stevens.edu/okaforLearn more about Ning’s award at stevens.edu/ning
ALUMNUS NAMED 2021 BLACK ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Obiefuna “Obi” Okafor ’10 earned the prestigious award — which is given by the Council of Engineering Deans of Historical-ly Black Colleges and Universities and the U.S. Black Engineer and Information Technology maga-zine — for his work at Corn-ing, Incorporated, where he is a senior project leader and a capital portfolio manager. In his intro-
duction for Okafor’s award presentation, Corning President and Chief Operating Officer Eric Musser highlighted Okafor’s ability to perform exceptional work even amid the pressures and uncertain-ties of a global pandemic.
“I think one of the things I love about chemical engineering is that it gives you options,” Okafor said. “I love that I’m actually able to impact people’s lives.”
Read the full story at stevens.edu/lawrey
6 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
GRIST FROM THE MILL
CELEBRATING THE CLASS OF 2021
Proud family members and friends cheered on Stevens’ approximately 2,400 gradu-ates across three days of Com-mencement ceremonies this past May at the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, New Jersey, and via livestream across the world.
“The past year has un-doubtedly been a time of tre-mendous disruption and gen-eration-defining change,” said President Nariman Farvardin. “You are well prepared … to identify and solve the thorny problems we face as a society, and be the next generation of pioneers, technology innova-tors and global citizens that our world needs.” PHOTOS: KATHY CACICEDO
STEVENS STUDENT WINS LARGEST CODING COMPETITION IN HISTORY
Recent graduate and current master’s student Ben Mirtchouk ’21 topped more than 136,000 partici-pants from 34 countries in the global TCS CodeVita coding challenge in May. Guinness World Records later certified the virtual event as the single largest computer programming competition ever conduct-ed. Over six hours, competitors worked on a variety of real-world coding problems such as optimizing the construction of a hotel. Mirtchouk, the first win-ner from the United States, nosed out students from Switzerland and Australia for the top spot.
“Some of the harder questions definitely gave me a run for my money during this challenge,” Mirt-chouk said. “It is always gratifying to solve a really difficult question.”
To read more about the Class of 2021 and the Commencement ceremonies, visit stevens.edu/commencement2021
Read more about Mirtchouk and his victory at stevens.edu/mirtchouk
FALL 2021 7
ALUMNI ASSEMBLE ONLINE FOR 100TH ALUMNI WEEKEND
On June 3-5, alumni gathered from their homes and on their
devices to celebrate our 100th Alumni Weekend. Along with family
and friends, they were treated to new twists on traditional Alumni
Weekend events: the Stevens Alumni Association (SAA) Annual Meet-
ing, the SAA Awards Ceremony, the State of Stevens by President Far-
vardin, beer and cocktail tastings, virtual tours of campus updates,
trivia with the Williams Library staff and milestone class gatherings.
(See the Classes of 1971 and 2015 reuniting virtually above.)
Watch for emails and social media postings from the Stevens
Alumni Office for any updates on fall and future events.
CALENDARCALENDAR
DEC4SATURDAYStevens Concert Band and Ensembles ConcertDeBaun Auditorium
DEC11SATURDAYStevens Choir Concert DeBaun Auditorium
For more events, visit stevens.edu/events and stevens.edu/DeBaunPAC
FRIDAYStevens Jazz Band Concert DeBaun Auditorium
10DEC
11-13NOVTHURSDAY - SATURDAYStevens Dramatic Society presents “She Kills Monsters,” DeBaun Auditorium
20NOVSATURDAY Stevens Orchestra Concert
DeBaun Auditorium
NOVFRIDAYVoice Recital Ondrick Music Room, 4th Floor, Howe Center
19
To relive Alumni Weekend 2021, visit the Past Webinars Library at stevens.edu/alumni-webinars
8 THE STEVENS INDICATORJEFF
VO
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FALL 2021 9
T his fall, a “Stevens” sign was illumi-nated for the very first time atop the university’s University Center Com-
plex (UCC), visible from New York City. It serves as a brilliant symbol to the world of Stevens’ presence and its transformation over the past decade, which has been noth-ing short of spectacular.
Opening in Spring 2022, the building hosts a student center and two 19- and 21-story towers that will house approxi-mately 1,000 students. The UCC is a physi-cal marker of the vast transformation of Stevens under the leadership of President Nariman Farvardin since he joined the university in 2011.
Enter the campus and you will discover many more changes — in the student body, among the faculty and in our facilities. Beyond campus you’ll notice a transforma-tion in the pride of alumni and the greater Stevens community, evident in the success of the recently completed $200 million Power of Stevens campaign, the largest in university history.
“It is no exaggeration to say that Stevens has changed the way we live, work and communicate, greatly benefitting society,” said U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), reading a statement into the Congressional Record on Feb. 13, 2020. “Today, Stevens is among the fastest growing universities in the nation, attracting top students and faculty from New Jersey, the nation and across the globe.”
“In almost every imaginable measure of performance, impact and productivity,
the university has reached new heights of achievement,” says President Farvardin. “Our star is on the rise, and the best is yet to come!”
Here is a look at just some areas of trans-formative change that have taken place at your alma mater from Fall 2011 to Fall 2021.
REMARKABLE STUDENTS, REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE
Ten years ago, the university launched a strategic plan that called for strategic enrollment growth. Today, demand for a Stevens education has never been higher: there are more students on campus than in the university’s 150-year history. Under-graduate enrollment has increased 68% to more than 4,000 students, and gradu-ate enrollment (full-time equivalent) has increased 72% to approximately 4,000 students. Applications for undergraduate and graduate admission have soared 214% and 271%, respectively.
While the student body grew, Stevens also ensured that the academic prowess of that community rose, too. Over the past decade, the average SAT score of the incoming class jumped by 147 points, from 1287 to 1434.
The university has made strong support for students and their success a guiding principle. As an indicator of the university’s focus on “student centricity,” the graduation rate increased from 79% to 87%, according to the latest available data.
And, even in the midst of a pandemic, 95% of the Class of 2020 secured highly
competitive employment and admission to prestigious graduate programs within six months of graduation.
Stevens’ student community has also become increasingly diverse. More students from underrepresented minority groups now attend Stevens, and the university has also made a concerted effort to enroll more women, enriching the university with diver-sity of thought, talents and life experiences. Over the last decade, the increase in the number of students from these two groups, among the undergraduate student body, has been nothing short of astounding, with a 150% increase in the number of under-represented minority students and a 98% increase in the number of women.
Stevens’ commitment to diversity has been buoyed by generous donors and in-cludes several new programs, such as:
ACES (Accessing Careers in Engineer-ing and Science), which aims to recruit and nurture talented students from underserved communities and underrep-resented minorities through high school partnerships, scholarships for pre-college programs and financial support
The Art Harper Saturday Academy, which connects Stevens to high school students from underrepresented communities who are interested in pursuing college majors and careers in STEM-related fields
iSTEM, a four-year entrepreneurship coaching program for incoming freshmen designed to transform budding talent into future leaders and game-changers
�The University Center Complex, scheduled to open in Spring 2022.
SPECTACULAR TRANSFORMATIONTHE PAST DECADE REVEALS STEVENS’A ‘STAR ON THE RISE’
10 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
and the A. James Clark Scholars Program, which provides academic and support services to talented students from under-represented groups who have financial need and wish to pursue engineering, computer science or cybersecurity studies.
Another scholarship milestone is the Lawrence T. Babbio ’66 Pinnacle Schol-arship Program, a merit scholarship founded in 2015.
Speak with students, and they will tell how their Stevens experience – and schol-arship support — have made a difference in their lives.
“The Pre-College program really was a transformational experience for me,” says Angelene Veloce, who is studying account-ing and analytics with the School of Busi-ness at Stevens. “If I hadn’t had the chance to attend and the scholarship to pay for it, I probably would have gone down the wrong path of study, which could have been really detrimental to my ability to graduate in four years.
“I credit ACES and the Pre-College program with making it clear to me what I wanted to pursue in college and that I wanted to do it here at Stevens.”
FACULTY, ACADEMICS, RESEARCH SHOW MARKED GROWTH
The increase in high-achieving students has ushered a similar increase in accom-plished faculty to teach, mentor and inspire them. The number of full-time faculty has increased 36%, to 315, the highest number of faculty in Stevens’ history. Housed in all
four schools, these faculty are both stellar teachers and researchers with a strong sense of purpose.
They are also being recognized for their contributions to their fields. Among them are 10 faculty members named fellows of the National Academy of Inventors as well as a number of National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award recipients, includ-ing five in 2021. From 2011 forward, annual research awards have increased an extraordi-nary 97%, to $50.6 million in Fall 2021.
“Stevens is the perfect place for me to pursue my teaching, mentoring and research goals,” says biomedical engineering professor Antonia Zaferiou, an NSF CAREER award recipient. “This is primarily due to the insti-tution’s dedication to support developing innovative research and teaching approach-es. The locale also offers the potential for productive and enjoyable internal and external collaborations that foster multi-disciplinary approaches.” (Read more about Zaferiou’s research, which focuses on mobil-ity issues in older adults, on page 34.)
Stevens faculty are tackling the most important issues and challenges in the world today, from climate change to brain research, AI to quantum computing, cancer research to defense research. The last de-cade at Stevens has seen the creation of:
the Stevens Institute for Artificial Intel-ligence (SIAI)
the CRAFT Center (Center for Research toward Advancing Financial Technologies)
the Center for Quantum Science and Engineering
the Hanlon Financial Systems Center
the Sensor Technology and Applied Research Center (STAR center)
and the ongoing work of many other laboratories and researchers.
A CAMPUS TRANSFORMEDMost visibly, the Stevens campus has
been transformed since 2011, with more modern and improved spaces to better support teaching, learning, research and student life. The university has completed numerous, important additions to campus, all made possible by strong donor support:
the Gateway Academic Center, a 89,500-square-foot teaching and research facility
the Ruesterholz Admissions Center, a new home for admissions that welcomes visitors to campus
the ABS Engineering Center, which added a large collaboration space for senior design students as well as labs and office space
the Student Wellness Center, housing Stevens’ physical, mental and disability health services
the Hanlon Financial Systems Center, serving business school students, includ-ing a lab that simulates a real trading floor
and the Lore-El Center for Women’s Leadership, offering a dedicated space for Stevens’ female students and faculty to connect on STEM.
FALL 2021 11
More than 300 smaller renovation and improvement projects also have been com-pleted all across campus, from the library to labs to the athletic center to dormitories.
Then, there’s the UCC. The generosity of Carol and Richard Harries ’58 and numer-ous other alumni and friends will trans-form the campus. The Harries family cited their faith in President Farvardin and the university’s progress.
“Carol and I have been highly impressed by the leadership of President Farvardin and others at Stevens, and the positive mo-mentum and aspiration of the university are infectious,” says Richard Harries. “To look at the expressions on students’ faces — they are so happy to be here and they’re part of something great.”
RECOGNITION OF EXCELLENCEOrganizations and media from coast
to coast have noticed Stevens’ positive momentum over the past decade. Notably, in 2017, Stevens and President Farvardin received two honors for the transformation of the university.
Stevens received the American Council on Education (ACE)/Fidelity Investments Award for Institutional Transformation in March 2017. The award recognizes institu-tions that have responded to higher educa-tion challenges in innovative and creative
ways and achieved dramatic changes in a relatively brief period.
That same year, Farvardin was selected by Carnegie Corporation of New York to re-ceive the 2017 Academic Leadership Award. The award is granted biannually to a small number of select educators who demon-strate, among other qualities, “vision and an outstanding commitment to excellence in undergraduate education.”
Stevens was also the focus of a Forbes article, “Turnaround University: Quant School on the Hudson,” in September 2017. The piece focused on not only the School of Business’ innovative quantitative finance program but also the university’s grow-ing enrollment, excellent career outcomes and improved selectivity, making it “one of the most desirable STEM colleges in the nation.”
RENEWED ALUMNI PRIDE AND SUPPORT
Stevens’ growth over the past decade could not have been possible without extraordinary support from the Stevens community. This happened in impressive fashion with the recently completed $200 million Power of Stevens campaign. (See related story on page 40.)
This campaign was a story of renewed pride in Stevens and a historic uniting of
alumni, faculty, staff, parents, students and friends to ensure the future of the univer-sity. Alumni, in particular, played a critical role, comprising the majority of the more than 14,000 donors and more than 45,000 unique gifts to the campaign.
“This campaign has been an example of alumni making a direct impact, invest-ing in a legacy for generations of Stevens students to come by improving our campus and making available more resources to our faculty and students, such as through scholarships at all levels,” says alumni trustee Victoria Velasco ’04, president of the Stevens Alumni Association.
FOCUS ON THE FUTUREWhen the UCC officially opens in the
spring, the university will already be on its way to achieving even greater heights. A new strategic plan is in development, which will create a vision for Stevens from 2022 to 2032. It will build upon this decade’s impressive gains and deepening strengths as Stevens seeks to make an even greater impact on the world.
On the tenth anniversary of his tenure as Stevens president this past summer, Farvardin reflected on when he first took office in 2011.
“My concluding words in my inaugural speech were: ‘I have unbridled optimism for what we can accomplish together,’” Far-vardin said. “Ten years later, my optimism about Stevens’ future is stronger than ever.”
Learn more about the transformation of Stevens at rise.stevens.edu — Beth Kissinger and Kristin Hanson
“ In almost every imaginable measure of performance, impact and productivity, the university has reached new heights of achievement. Our star is on the rise, and the best is yet to come!” — President Nariman Farvardin
BRILLIANT BRAVE AND BOLDS T E V E N S A L U M N A E : PORTRAITS OF LEADERSHIP
NOTE TO PRINTER:
PLEASE ADJUST THE BULL ART SO THAT THE DIFFERENT SECTIONS ALIGN ACROSS THE GUTTER
FALL 2021 13
F rom the moment 19 undergraduate women first stepped on campus 50 years ago this fall, Stevens women have embraced the roles of trailblazer and leader. Generation after generation, they have cheered each other on, lifted each other up, as they took their seat at the table — or built their own table — to pursue
careers and lives of fulfillment.Today, Stevens alumnae can be found in laboratories, board rooms, hospitals and universities across the country
— and around the world — as leaders in industry, government, the arts, academia and community and humanitarian service. Clarelle DeGraffe ’84 leads the PATH system, connecting thousands of commuters between New York and New Jersey. Pam Cheng ’92 M.Eng. ’95, an executive vice president with AstraZeneca, has played a key role in deliv-ering the company’s COVID-19 vaccine across the globe. Virginia Ruesterholz ’83, a retired top Verizon executive, made history as the first woman to chair the Stevens Board of Trustees. CEOs and entrepreneurs Alla Weinstein ’77 and Rita Gurevich ’06 are making the world safer through their pioneering efforts, Weinstein in renewable energy and Gurevich in cybersecurity. All have shared their inspiring stories in Stevens publications.
For this issue of The Indicator, we speak with eight additional alumnae — of different generations, industries and life experiences — who continue to show the impact of Stevens women as leaders, and who inspire a new generation of young women to aspire and succeed. We speak with them about their professional and personal journeys, and their hopes for the future.
“These Stevens alumnae are just extraordinary,” says Victoria Velasco ’04, the longest-serving Stevens Alumni Association president and only the third woman to serve in the association's 145-year history. “They represent some of the highest levels of accomplishment in their fields while inspiring a new generation of women leaders. What is even more incredible is that they represent just a snapshot of our alumnae achievements! They honor the hard work and sacrifices of Stevens’ first class of women and all of those who have followed.”
You can read their stories starting on page 14. v — Beth Kissinger
To read more stories of inspiring Stevens alumnae, faculty and staff, visit stevens.edu/womenatstevens
“You’re going to walk into many rooms in your life and
career where you may be the only one who looks like you
or who has had the experiences you’ve had. But you
remember that when you are in those rooms, you are not
alone. We are all in that room with you applauding you on.
Cheering your voice.” — VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS
BRILLIANT BRAVE AND BOLD
NOTE TO PRINTER:
PLEASE ADJUST THE BULL ART SO THAT THE DIFFERENT SECTIONS ALIGN ACROSS THE GUTTER
To this end, MoMA added more than 40,000 square feet of additional gallery space — presenting more works by more artists. There’s a new high-tech performance space; a new Creativity Lab for educational programming; a new museum store; a free street-level gallery for passersby, among other improvements.
This highly complex project involved combining three separate buildings. There was the westward expansion into a new condominium development — literally sliding three floors of exhibition space into this towering skyscraper. It involved the demolition of the American Folk Art Mu-seum, to also help expand gallery space. In the process, Savitsky led the project to LEED Platinum certification for its environmental-ly friendly design and construction.
She sums up her job: “I had to control the budget, I had to control the schedule and I had to control the scope” — not an easy task.
“It took a village,” she says. “I have amaz-ing people that I work with.”
Savitsky also performed a master act of collaboration and diplomacy. She worked with contractors, developers, museum trustees, curators and community members to get everyone on the same page for this institution they all care so deeply about.
As Savitsky offers a quick museum tour, it is obvious that she cares deeply, too; her ties to MoMA are long-standing. Her moth-er first brought her here as a child, and Jean has long been a patron. She’s drawn to the
galleries of the 1950s, to the action paintings of Pollock, de Kooning and others, and the “beautiful and clean” sculpture of Constan-tin Brancusi.
But mostly, when Savitsky walks through these spaces, she sees them through the eyes of an engineer.
A new staircase — hung from one piece of steel — is a true engineering feat, she says. To create the new dramatic entry to the museum, workers removed an entire floor above, which doubled the height of the ceiling and created “a whole new experience, a floating tension.” They moved massive sculptures — such as Richard Serra’s “Equal,” a series of eight forged steel boxes, each weighing 40 tons — and created the new street-level galleries, where art comes to the people.
ON LEADERSHIPSavitsky came well prepared for this chal-lenge. Just south of MoMA soars the Bank of America Tower at Bryant Park, for which Savitsky served as project manager during her long tenure with Jones Lang LaSalle, a global real estate services company. (The skyscraper also achieved LEED Platinum, the first skyscraper in North America to do so.) Before that, she served as facilities director with Simon & Schuster and directed facilities operations at Radio City Music Hall.
When it comes to her leadership philoso-phy, Savitsky is disarmingly humble.
“I surround myself with people on my teams who are smarter than I am. And you
14 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
During much of the coronavirus pandemic, Jean Savitsky’s work-place — the Museum of Modern Art
(MoMA) in New York — had been quiet. And empty. Wandering through its galleries, you could really see the art; “It was a beauti-ful experience,” she says.
But on a humid July afternoon this sum-mer, the people are back. They form small clusters outside of MoMA’s West 53rd Street entrance and Savitsky ’85 — who worked for five years leading the museum’s $450 million expansion — is pleased. They are the reason MoMA is here, she says.
“To see people engaging with the art — maybe they’re New Yorkers and they’re here all the time,” she says. “Or maybe it’s some-one who has always wanted to come and see ‘Starry Night’ or ‘Christina’s World,’ and they finally get to do it. … And then they turn and see something else they’ve never seen before, and you’re just listening to their comments and their enthusiasm.
“That’s what all of this is for.”
MASTERING SCHEDULES AND DIPLOMACYFrom 2014 to 2019, Savitsky, who is Mo-MA’s director of real estate and sustainabil-ity and a 35-year veteran of New York’s real estate and construction industry, led the ex-pansion and renovation of this beloved icon. It has unveiled, in the words of the museum, “a reimagined presentation of modern and contemporary art.”
PASSIONATE PURSUITJEAN SAVITSKY HELPS TO DELIVER A ‘REIMAGINED’ MoMA
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let people who are really good at what they do go do it. When they hit a wall, or there’s a problem, you’re there to help them figure out how to get through it.”
LOOKING FORWARD, AND FAMILYHer current work at MoMA involves nothing less than the museum’s future. Her main focus is putting together MoMA’s sustainability plan and aligning with New York City’s ambitious goals for reducing carbon emissions and developing a greener power grid by 2030. It’s an all-encompassing effort touching upon energy use and opti-mizing the building’s performance; reduc-ing museum waste by 50 percent by 2025; and exploring ways to move away from fossil fuels while maintaining “incredibly
stringent” environmental conditions needed to preserve priceless works of art.
As she eyes more ambitious projects for MoMA, Savitsky feels blessed to be there. She also feels lucky to have shared this proj-ect with her mother, Mary, a retired public school teacher in New York and New Jersey, the host of a television math education program and professor at New Jersey City University, who instilled a love of art and a strong sense of determination. And her father, Stevens’ renowned Davidson Labo-ratory professor Dan Savitsky M.S. ’52, her trusted counsel. (He passed away in 2020 at age 98.)
She shared engineering drawings and many stories with her father, who was truly engaged in the project, asking questions, challenging her. Both of her parents
attended the opening of the expanded muse-um in October 2019.
“It was so wonderful to be able to have him see, finally, what he had been seeing on paper all along,” she says.
Walking the museum’s galleries, Savitsky calls it a privilege to work in a place of beau-ty that can take her breath away.
“You’re surrounded by art every day, and to be surrounded by such smart people … I can walk through a gallery and see some-thing … or pop my head in the studio and try to experience what is happening there.
“It’s a dream place to work.” v — Beth Kissinger
To read the full profile, visit stevens.edu/jsavitsky
Savitsky, pictured in the Sculpture Garden at MoMA, recently led a $450 million expansion of the iconic museum.
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JEAN SAVITSKY HELPS TO DELIVER A ‘REIMAGINED’ MoMA
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Gloeckle, pictured in the Babbio Center atrium at Stevens, says her current role at A+E Networks allows her to leverage her diverse educational and professional experiences.
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You often see articles talking about how data is the new oil,” says Maggie Gloeckle M.S. ’95, associate general counsel, head of global privacy at A+E Networks. Companies,
services and governments are collecting, analyzing and storing more information than ever before. But, as with oil, the more data you collect, the more likely a spill. Leaders in consumer privacy like Gloeckle are mindful of how data is used, as well as the efforts required to protect it or prevent misuse or a breach.
At A+E, Gloeckle is responsible for a global program overseeing data privacy and data protection, developing policies, assessing risk and the impact of regulations, as well as the changing needs of the business — all while keeping her finger on the pulse of new laws around the globe.
“You don’t know what’s coming, and that’s what I find so exciting about the ever-changing field of data privacy,” says Gloeckle, who joined the company in 2017 and counts “Tiny House Nation” and the Histo-ry Channel among her favorite A+E properties.
Gloeckle began her career not in data privacy but telecommunications within financial services. Under the guidance of a valued mentor, Leigh Reynolds, at Bloomberg L.P., she volunteered for a research opportunity which led her to pursue a master’s in telecommunica-tions management at Stevens.
Later, while at Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., she devel-oped an interest in data privacy. The multidisciplinary nature of the field provided her an opportunity to leverage her Stevens education, as well as her law degree, MBA and professional certifications from UCLA, Georgetown University and George Washington University.
“I got the bug,” she says. “I knew the technical side but wanted to
learn more about the legal impact, and I wanted to find a way to tie it all together. Over time, I built a toolkit of different skills.”
A certified information privacy professional, information privacy manager, information privacy technologist and data privacy solutions engineer, Gloeckle is a leader in her field with expertise in all facets of the space, from technology and business to law and ethics. She co-authored articles in the Association of Corporate Counsel Docket and is a fellow of information privacy at the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). As part of IAPP’s research advisory board, she helps develop the organization’s research agenda and con-nects with law and policy makers, as well as academic institutions.
Gloeckle now shares her expertise with Stevens as a member of the management board of advisers for the Graduate Manage-ment Program. She provides feedback on curriculum, consulting
projects and industry developments in addition to mentoring two graduate students.
At A+E Networks, Gloeckle values her colleagues and the orga-nization’s “culture of kindness.”
“There are so many creative, bright and passionate colleagues developing and delivering A+E’s content. It takes incredible teams behind the scenes, from the programming team, operations (staff) who ensure content is on the air, to those who manage our digital properties — and of course, members of our legal team,” Gloeckle says. “It is a great place to work.” v — Claire Curry
MAGGIE GLOECKLE THRIVES IN AN EVER-CHANGING DATA-PROTECTION FIELD
A MATTER OF PRIVACY
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“I got the bug. I knew the technical side but wanted to learn more about the legal impact, and I wanted to find a way to tie it all together.”
“
18 THE STEVENS INDICATOR18 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
American infrastructure has faced numerous challenges in the past several decades — age, the elements and gridlock in government. Now it faces another: the re-
tirement of thousands of seasoned leaders in the coming years. Fortunately, rising stars like Lisbeth Concho M.S. ’09 Ph.D. ’13 are poised to step in and help bring the field forward.
Transit asset management — the systematic, strategic process of procuring, operating, maintaining and replacing transit assets to manage performance and costs — wasn’t always Concho’s career goal; she came to Stevens in 2007 after completing an internship in oil and gas with WilPro Energy Services in her native Venezuela.
“I was interested in looking at things from an enterprise, or systems, perspective,” Concho says. “A friend of mine was at Ste-vens and talked about their systems engineering program. After looking at the website, its location and its programs, I thought it was definitely the right place for me in multiple ways.”
During her time at Stevens, Concho worked with the Maritime Security Center under former Stevens faculty member Tom Wake-man. Her summer program focused on evaluating the criticality of bridges, tunnels and airports managed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey along the New York Harbor and the impact that a terrorist attack on any of these facilities would have on the maritime supply chain, transportation and population.
The experience piqued her interest in the management of transit and transportation assets in the area and informed her doctoral research under the guidance of Jose Ramirez-Marquez, associate professor and division director of enterprise science and engineering. Concho’s work focused on creating optimiza-tion models using genetic algorithm techniques to speed the pro-cess of shipping container inspections and passenger screening, increasing reliability and reducing financial and time costs.
After Stevens, she joined the MTA as a systems engineer, where she saw firsthand the challenges the agency faced in maintaining the vast transportation network — particularly in
making strategic decisions about how to prioritize investments for new assets and repairing existing infrastructure.
“Identifying where all the funding needs to be allocated and deciding where it will actually be spent is a challenging decision-making process that translates into better service for the customer,” she says.
Concho left the MTA in 2015 to become an asset man-agement consultant, providing systems engineering, business analysis and project management support to several transit agencies across the country.
“One of the most common challenges across these agencies is managing information about their assets — things as simple as when a piece of equipment was last maintained. They often lack readily available or historical data to use to improve the analysis they need to forecast when it is best to maintain or replace equip-ment before it falls into disrepair,” she says. By taking a systems approach, she adds, these agencies can better identify their needs and improve how decisions are made in both the short and long term. Her background in operations research, coupled with the skills she gained at Stevens, provided the foundation for Concho to build a decision-support tool she uses to help agencies make that kind of analysis.
Outside the office, Concho also assumed a greater leadership role in the field. In 2017, she founded the first U.S. chapter of the Institute of Asset Management’s (IAM) NxtGen group, a resource open to students, young professionals and experienced workers transitioning to the asset management profession. Before the pan-demic, Concho organized a series of activities for the group in and around New York City ranging from networking events to presenta-tions from leaders in the field. Although she has passed the NxtGen baton to new leaders, she remains involved as a volunteer for IAM.
“I want to bring awareness about asset management to people who are new to the field and facilitate knowledge across different industries,” she says. v — Kristin Hanson
LISBETH CONCHO TAKES A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO ASSET MANAGEMENT
KEEPING TRANSIT ON TRACKKEEPING TRANSIT ON TRACK
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Concho, pictured at the Oculus at the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, discovered an interest in transportation asset management during her work at Stevens’ Maritime Security Center.
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Henry, pictured at a lab at Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health in Skillman, New Jersey, appeared alongside Jennifer Aniston in a recent commercial for a moisturizer Henry helped develop.
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When Sabrina Henry ’09 M.Eng. ’11 graduated from Stevens, she never imagined that a decade later she’d star in a commercial opposite Jennifer Aniston ad-
vertising a new AVEENO® skincare moisturizer. Henry not only promoted the product, but also played a key role in developing it as a research and development scientist at Johnson & Johnson.
Henry said the experience was one of the most memorable moments of her career.
“Leading the product development activities and driving connectivity globally and cross-functionally were my bigger goals for that project and launch,” she says. “The commercial was the icing on the cake. I can really talk about the product because I worked on it. I saw it in its infancy as a prototype.”
Henry’s Johnson & Johnson career began with an internship while she was a student at Stevens and, later, a full-time posi-tion as a R&D scientist. She moved up the ranks steadily and was promoted five times in 12 years, including a three-month European stint at Johnson & Johnson Santé Beauté France. In 2018, she began her MBA at Rutgers Business School and today, as an R&D manager, she leads a team of scientists. The group manages the day-to-day product lifecycle activities for many household-name skincare products. Henry enjoys steering products from the lab into the bottle, including the AVEENO® Calm + Restore line, AVEENO® Positively Radiant body care line and JOHNSON’S® Baby Shampoo.
Working in the skincare and cosmetics field was not what
Henry envisioned when she arrived at Stevens to study biomed-ical engineering. But during an internship at Procter & Gamble, where she watched scientists work on haircare products, she began rethinking her course of study.
“With chemical engineering, you could do a lot more things versus being very specialized,” explains Henry, who later earned a master’s in engineering at Stevens after completing her bache-lor’s degree. “I thought about it the whole summer. I talked to my friends and then I made the switch. I’m really thankful I made that decision because I think it was a great choice for me in the end.”
Henry merges her professional life with a commitment to service through volunteer work with students in an after-school program run by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. The students got a taste of what it’s like to work in a science lab doing fun projects like making their own lotions and cleans-ers. Within Johnson & Johnson, too, Henry seeks to give back. She mentors young scientists, including interns from Stevens, and she is especially committed to uplifting women of color to become future scientists.
“I think even now, more so too as a woman of color, it’s critical for me to make sure that voice is heard,” says Henry, who also serves as a role model for her own two young daughters. “I acknowledge the responsibility and privilege I have to pave the way for more di-verse conversation and solutions for communities that look like me in the workplace. I am honored to inspire a generation of women to pursue careers in STEM.” v — Claire Curry
SABRINA HENRY TALKS SCIENCE, SERVICE AND HER RECENT STAR TURN
FROM THE LAB INTO THE BOTTLE
FALL 2021 21
22 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
that next live segment together during the three-minute break.
“We knew we could only broadcast three songs, but we didn’t know where they would be in the set.”
Once again, the broadcast returns from commercial, the act begins to play, and nobody viewing is the wiser.
“Like magic,” she laughs.It was all in another day’s work for Vec-
chione, who travels nationwide and world-wide keeping live broadcasts and recorded concerts — like the New Orleans Jazz Festi-val, Farm Aid, California’s Coachella festival and Lollapalooza, including this summer’s event in Chicago — flowing smoothly from behind the scenes.
So smoothly, you probably never notice her at all.
FROM STEVENS TO THE LIVE STAGEGrowing up in New Jersey, Vecchione always knew she wanted to work in music and television. She watched hours of music vid-eos on the VH1 and MTV networks while preparing for school and attended concerts in Hoboken and New York City.
She never thought about attending Stevens to prepare for such a career — until a chance encounter between her mother and a Stevens recruiter who told her about the university’s new program in music and technology.
It was during the formative years of that College of Arts and Letters (CAL) major program — which has since become one of the college’s signatures — but current CAL faculty members such as Rob Harari, Carlos Alomar and Andy Brick were already in place and teaching.
“From her very first class with me, I recognized in Allyson a keen ability to understand and assimilate new information in a manner that is at once deeply perceptive and contextually relevant,” remembers Brick. “And so, when I was asked to conduct Game ON! at the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra (in January 2020), I was absolutely sure Allyson’s outstanding reputa-tion in the field was well deserved and that I could entrust her with the very demanding role an associate director must assume.”
For several summers during her Stevens years, Vecchione worked in New York City for a live syndicated music-television show, Fearless Music, as production coordinator. That meant booking guests, setting up artists on a live stage, even prepping the audio con-sole for the engineer.
After composing a piece of music for her CAL senior thesis, graduating and work-ing for the television network AXS TV, she decided to become a freelance producer. Now she travels the globe working as a sort-of air-traffic controller during concerts and
It’s the second day of the Firefly Festival in Delaware. Live acts are playing on stages, but a strong storm with dangerous
lightning is moving in. Organizers suddenly decide to shut down the entire concert for the night, even as the event is broadcasting live to a worldwide audience on a four-minute delay.
Within those four minutes, the broad-cast’s producer must decide how to take that live broadcast off the air; tell the hosts what to tell their viewing audience; write and push emergency messages to the venue’s many video screens; and return safely to her hotel.
It all happens without a hitch.Two nights later, the weather has im-
proved; the four-day festival is wrapping up. There’s another problem. The headline act’s management won’t let its performance set be broadcast live. Nobody on site knows why, but the act is edited out of the live broadcast.
Then, just minutes before final sign-off, word comes down: the act has changed its mind.
“We had about one minute of lead time, that time,” Allyson Vecchione ᾽09 recalls, as she was again pressed as a producer to make a split-second decision. “I had to shift the broadcast to commercial, get brand-new graphics ready, have a playback person ready, cue up the next clip, talk to master control about inserting an emergency commercial break, and then scramble to put
ALLYSON VECCHIONE’S ‘MAGIC’ KEEPS LIVE EVENTS OF ALL TYPES RUNNING SMOOTHLY
BEHIND THE MUSIC
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Artists, legal issues and other factors can also change a solid game plan at a late juncture.
“You have to keep your cool,” Vecchione explains. “I’m often told that I am calm under pressure.”
SURFING INTO SPORTS, CORPORATE WORKAs the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated during the spring of 2020, Vecchione saw her festival circuit work dwindle to none. Within a few months, however, live streams of virtual concerts began to pop up — and she was in demand again.
“I went to L.A. for a bit,” she says, “which often meant sitting in the back of an empty concert hall or studio, clapping for a well-known act playing to no audience other than our small crew!”
sporting event broadcasts, coordinating audio engineering, graphics packages, live feeds, commercial breaks and more.
Live music festivals, Vecchione’s bread-and-butter, are notoriously complex.
“You can only broadcast one act at a time live, obviously,” she explains. “It becomes a puzzle to figure out who we can play, and when. Some artists have licensing agree-ments where you have to play them live on air. You go through the set lists. You track the songs. A puzzle.”
Weather also complicates festivals.“Once I did a festival in Washington
state,” she remembers, “where the wind was so bad they couldn’t put any artists on stage at all. We had to fill four or five hours with content from the day before, while they waited for the wind to die down.”
She also picked up remote work as a pro-duction coordinator on documentary series, and sometimes remotely assisted corporations live-streaming events such as annual meetings.
Increasingly, Vecchione also finds herself working as an associate director on events such as surf competitions with the World Surf League.
She continues to enjoy the freedom and flexibility her career brings.
“I can get a call from someone last-minute to fly across the country, or even to another country,” she says, “and I can say, ‘Sure, I can do that, sounds great.’”
“Freelancing in this field has given me the opportunity to work some amazing events — and to realize my dreams of work-ing in music and television.” v
— Paul Karr
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Vecchione (outside the College of Arts and Letters' Morton-Peirce-Kidde complex) has kept busy during the pandemic producing virtual concerts, corporate live-streaming events and more.
24 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
“I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t any pressure being the first,” says Waters, pictured on the SUNY Maritime College campus in the Bronx, New York, where she serves as provost. “There’s a spotlight on you. You have to do things better.”
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FLEXIBLE, ADAPTABLE AND DETERMINEDJENNIFER KEHL WATERS REFLECTS ON A LIFETIME IN LEADERSHIP
You have been a trailblazer throughout your career. Can you talk about what that’s meant to you?
I have mentioned to my husband and my daughters many times: I’m always surprised that I’m the first female “fill in the blank.” Hasn’t someone been here already? The answer often is, not yet. It’s eye-opening. I think having women in these types of leadership roles is really noticed, especially by the students. We here at Maritime have an opportunity to increase our female enrollment, and it is one of our strategic goals, along with increasing the diversity of the overall student body and the faculty.
I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t any pressure being the first. You really are rep-resenting something new, whereas if you’re one of many, if you stumble, it’s OK. But if you’re the only one, there’s a spotlight on you. You have to do things better.
Why is diversity important in education and the workplace?
When there is no one around who looks like you, or who has some of the stressors you have, it can be a lonely place. So just knowing that someone looks like you, and is dealing with some of the same issues that you have to deal with, helps strengthen you, and reassure you that you do belong, that you’re not this oddity. I always joke that maybe I’m just strange enough or crazy
enough to be the first, to show that it really is OK, that this is a place where we belong. It may sound trite, but diversity does strength-en any organization — diversity of thought, diversity of experience, diversity of perspectives.
Do you think women lead differently than men?
Different people do lead differently. But there are different expectations of women, assumptions that a woman will behave dif-ferently, lead differently, and I try to be as true to myself as I can. I don’t know if how I lead or speak or react is more female than male. But it’s me, and what I bring to the table and all my interactions and experi-ences. It’s probably even more so being the “first” of so many; I do have to listen more than most people — listen and pause. It’s definitely my style that I’ve had to develop throughout my life.
Who has influenced you along the way?
My parents instilled in me a good work ethic and a love of the water. (Growing up on Long Island, New York), we spent just about every weekend in the spring, summer and fall and every family vacation on the water.
Women, from preschool, grade school — I had so many strong and kind female role models. But from undergraduate through
graduate school, I had not one female faculty member. There were women there who were strong with whom I interacted, and there were women I met at conferences and other venues who really did inspire me. The men were also very instrumental in providing a culture conducive to inclusion. That was definitely very apparent for certain faculty members, but not all. To manage to not only thrive in difficult situations but also taking something away from it was really important. It makes me more grateful, thankful, for how everything is evolving.
I have two daughters. I know when they were born, it did strengthen me — and that I wanted to be a part of making a world that will be a little bit better for them. I wish we were further along. But we’ve made some progress. And they are spectacular; I am so proud of them.
Do you have advice to give to young women (and young men) who are pursuing STEM careers?
The best advice I can give is to be true to yourself, but also reach out and ask for help and look for help, as needed. There’s a whole lot of help out there.
I was the first in my family to get a four-year degree, let alone go to graduate school and earn a Ph.D. People use the phrase “im-poster syndrome” … I didn’t know the cul-ture of academia. I had to watch and learn and listen quite a lot. Did I feel imposter syndrome? Definitely, early on. Here at Mar-itime College, a high percentage of students are first-generation college students. I tell them, “You’re not the only one. Get help where you need it. It will strengthen you.”
What do you feel are some secrets to your success?
I’ve never had a fixed plan. I always looked at the options that were in front of me and tried to make the best decisions at that moment. My husband would say that I am extremely tenacious and determined, and that’s true. I don’t back down from a chal-lenge, I don’t give up. I have been told that this can’t be done, I’m crazy enough to keep trying, in spite of doubters and naysayers. Be flexible, adaptable and determined. v
— As told to Beth Kissinger
For much of her life, Jennifer Kehl Waters M.Eng. ’93 Ph.D. ’95 has been a “first wom-an.” The first woman to receive a Ph.D. in ocean engineering from Stevens. The first woman to be a department chair and associate dean at the U.S. Naval Academy, where
she spent more than 25 years. Now, Waters is the first woman in SUNY Maritime College’s 147-year history to serve as provost.
She’s the academic leader for the 1,800-student engineering and science college located at Fort Schuyler on the waterfront of the Bronx, New York, surrounded by magnificent views of the East River and Long Island Sound. Waters oversees faculty, student affairs, curriculum, athletics and the college’s medical operations, including its COVID-19 re-sponse. (At the Naval Academy, Waters was praised for raising the already high academic standards and improving the graduation rate to close to 90 percent.)
“I’ve always loved the maritime field, and I’m a native New Yorker,” said Waters, who joined SUNY Maritime in July 2020. “The real clincher was the people here. It really has a welcoming and inclusive vibe that drew me in.”
As the college prepares for a full re-opening this fall — with a new training ship, the Empire State VII, set to sail in summer 2023 — Waters recently reflected on her journey to this leadership moment.
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Leadership is about making decisions. Dr. Darshana Manji Dadhania ’93 knows a lot about decision-making,
as is evident in her many leadership roles at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medi-cal Center (NYP/WCMC) in Manhattan.
As COVID-19 gripped New York City in March 2020, hospitals across the United States discontinued elective procedures, including kidney transplants. As the surgical shutdown ensued, Dr. Dadhania, who serves as the med-ical director for Kidney and Pancreas Trans-plant Programs at NYP/WCMC, evaluated the impact of the pandemic on her patients’ welfare. She and her colleagues realized that patients on dialysis who were waiting for a kidney transplant were more likely to have severe COVID-19 illness and complications compared to those who already had a kidney transplant and healthy kidney function.
“Healthy kidney function was an import-ant parameter in assessing a patient’s case. When the kidneys weren’t functioning well at the onset of COVID-19, we found the patient did not do well and often did not survive,” says Dr. Dadhania. The team had to make an important decision: what carried greater risk during this viral pandemic, performing sur-geries and using immunosuppressant drugs, or keeping patients on dialysis?
“There wasn’t a clear answer, so our team slowly began performing kidney transplants, with all necessary precautions,” explains Dr. Dadhania. “As we resumed surgeries, our multidisciplinary team, consisting of nurses, physicians, and renal fellows, quickly devel-oped plans to maintain a COVID-free unit and clinic for our transplanted patients and protect them from the virus. The process
to start an organization that, I think, in a larger environment, I might not have had the opportu-nity or courage to pursue.” Taking her newfound confidence with her to New Jersey Medical School in Newark, Dr. Dadhania became presi-dent of the student-run clinic.
Dr. Dadhania’s early experiences at NYP/WCMC further crystallized her future plans. She interacted with expert clinicians, whose priority was to deliver excellent patient care, as well as with leaders who had the ability to inspire and motivate junior members. During this phase of her career, she met with the Weill Department of Medicine’s Chief of Nephrology, Dr. Manikkam Suthanthiran, who left a lasting impression on her. “I never intended on pur-suing a career in academic medicine because I did not like the concept of performing research to publish and obtain grants. However, I found that the translational research being performed in the Suthanthiran Laboratory had the poten-tial to solve clinical puzzles and improve patient care.” To date, Dr. Dadhania has published 86 papers in the top-tier medical journals.
After completing her internal medicine residency training at NYP/WCMC, Dr. Dadhania pursued an academic career in transplantation medicine and is currently an associate professor of medicine at Weill Cor-nell Medical Center.
“I JUST SAY ‘YES’”Keeping an eye on the future and saying “yes” to opportunities, especially those that involve new collaborations, has been Dr. Dadhania’s approach to success.
Today, she holds a number of high-level leadership positions at NYP/WCMC, which in-clude medical director of the Kidney-Pancreas
involved developing collaborations with the Weill Cornell Medicine Fever Clinic and telemedicine visits to evaluate and treat transplant patients with COVID-19 illness. It was a difficult decision for all involved — physicians, nurses and administrators — but one that likely saved lives.”
As of June 2021, there was not a single kidney transplant patient who contracted COVID-19 from a pre- or post-surgery visit at NYP/WCMC. Dr. Dadhania and the team summarized their data and learned that their kidney transplant patients with COVID-19 illness had one of the lowest mortality rates during the peak of the pandemic.
“It’s been very tough and stressful to practice medicine in the midst of a pan-demic,” Dr. Dadhania says, “but the reason I went into medicine was to help others.”
FINDING A VOICE — AND A CALLINGDr. Dadhania’s career path began at Stevens in 1990, when she enrolled in the university’s accelerated pre-medicine program in partner-ship with the New Jersey Medical School at Rutgers University (NJMS). She remembers being “a pretty shy child,” but the activities she participated in as an undergraduate helped her to find her voice. Chief among those experiences was to establish a chapter of Alpha Epsilon Delta, a national pre-professional hon-or society for students committed to health-care careers. Nuran Kumbaraci, an assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology, encouraged her to start the chapter at Stevens.
“This was an important early step in my training,” says Dr. Dadhania. “The small, supportive environment at Stevens allowed me
EMBRACING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FUELS DARSHANA DADHANIA’S NOTEWORTHY MEDICAL CAREER
“JUST SAY ‘YES’”
FALL 2021 27
the Kidney Pancreas Community of Practice (KPCOP) within the American Society of Transplantation in 2015, she enthusiastically accepted. To her surprise, her enthusiasm for cross-collaborations with the goal of improv-ing patient care made her a natural leader. Dr. Dadhania served as the chair of the KPCOP from 2017 to 2019, has participated in many consensus conferences focused on medical care of transplant recipients and has become a nationally recognized leader in the field of transplantation.
COLLABORATE AND SPEAK UPWhen asked what advice she’d give to others wishing to follow in her footsteps, Dr. Dadhania offers these thoughts: build collaborations, share your input and don’t be afraid to speak up. “When it comes to patient care, I have no problem speaking
Transplant Program, one of the largest kid-ney transplant programs on the East Coast, and director of the Genomics Division of the Immunogenetics and Transplantation Center, a histocompatibility laboratory that serves six transplant programs. Dr. Dad-hania has trained in histocompatibility, the science of determining a fit between a donor organ and transplant patient to ensure that the organ will not be rejected. She provides consulting services to NYP and several other hospitals in New York City. In addition, she is also the principal investigator of two research grants sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.
“I get excited very easily, so when things are proposed to me, I just say ‘yes.’ I haven’t learned how to say ‘no’ yet,” she says.
Case in point: When a colleague nominat-ed Dr. Dadhania for a leadership position of
up, but I will say that advocating for my-self doesn’t come easily sometimes. It’s im-portant to build your strength by collabo-rating with everyone. I would suggest that you seek out those people, whether they be men or women, who are supportive. And this would include junior or senior level colleagues as well as individuals in leadership positions.
“Above all, I do love my profession. It offers me access to continuous education, opportunities to learn new skills and to grow professionally and personally. What’s worked best for me is to demonstrate to others that there is a win-win in any situation or collabo-ration,” says Dr. Dadhania. “And you do have to speak up.” v — Kristin Hanson
To read the full profile, visit stevens.edu/dadhania.
“JUST SAY ‘YES’”
Dadhania, seen inside her office at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan, cites a commitment to collaboration and willingness to speak up as some of the keys to her success.
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arm that serves as a resource for enhancing the career advancement of members and advocating for the profession.
“Each step I took in the progression of being an IEEE volunteer, I’ve met interest-ing people and mentors,” she says. “It’s kind of like a sandbox, or training ground, for leadership skills.”
At the start of her IEEE journey, the organization “felt like a student club, not a professional organization.” She didn’t realize how powerful the network she’d joined was until she began her Ph.D. studies at New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University. Through IEEE section-level events, she got to know some of the movers and shakers in the northern New Jersey en-gineering industry, including mentors who helped her complete her doctoral research and prepare her for the job search.
If you’re searching for a textbook example of what it means to climb the ladder of leadership, look no further than Kate
Duncan ’98 M.Eng. ’99. She joined the Insti-tute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) nearly 25 years ago as an under-graduate student. Today, she serves as the president of IEEE-USA, an organizational
KATE DUNCAN EMPOWERS A NEW GENERATION OF WOMEN ENGINEERS
WIDENING THE PIPELINE
“There are certain sciences that are con-sidered ‘hard sciences,’ and electromagnetics — one of my areas — is one of them. I think there’s a lot of work to be done to increase the pipeline of women engineers into electromagnetics and communications.”
Duncan, photographed at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, calls IEEE-USA, which she serves as president, a “training ground for leadership skills.”
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FALL 2021 29
SGA MAKES HISTORY, WITH WOMEN TAKING THE LEADThe women now leading Stevens’ Student Government Association (SGA) made history earlier this year without even knowing it. They were too busy doing their jobs.
This past spring semester, Stevens students elected five women to the top six leadership positions of the SGA Executive Committee, which oversees an approximately $850,000 student activities budget, works with more than 150 student clubs and organizations along with a stu-dent Senate, and serves as the student voice to the administration, faculty and staff. Only after they settled into their roles did they learn they are likely the largest group of women to hold these top student government spots over Stevens’ 150-year history.
“I don’t know if it’s something we think about,” says Victoria Agaliotis ’22. “I think that people thought we were really the best people for the job.”
But once they realized that bit of trivia — and taking into account that Stevens’ student body is about 70 percent male and 30 percent female — these women knew this was a special moment, says SGA President Liana Meyer ’23.
The SGA Executive Committee includes, in photo above from left, Victoria Agaliotis ’22, chemical engineering; Julieann Murphy ’23, social sciences; Rachel Pinho ’23, biomedical engineering; Liana Meyer ’23, mechanical engineering; Gab Poska ’23, biomedical engineer-ing; and Yiding Yang ’23, mechanical engineering and the committee’s sole male member.
For their small population, women at Stevens have a high participation rate when it comes to student activities and clubs, with many involved as members and taking leadership roles. Athletics is an area where Stevens women shine in leadership, so it’s no surprise that all five of the female SGA executive women are student-athletes.
“As an athlete, you have to be good at time management,” says Pinho, who runs cross country and track. “There’s a general drive to get the job done.”
Getting the job done in student government this past spring was challenging, with in-person club activities and events cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The club meetings that were held took place on Zoom.
With Stevens fully reopening this fall, this SGA team is excited to sponsor in-person activi-ties again and bring the campus back to life.
“The (Spring 2021) semester was pretty rough on a lot of people, and they were disen-gaged. I think (this fall) people will get involved as much as possible and do it all,” Meyer says.
The SGA Executive Committee asked the student body to help identify its top priorities for the coming academic year and they include: improving faculty adviser relationships with students; providing more transparency on how certain scholar programs are operated; and increasing student participation with the SGA and Stevens clubs and organizations.
They hope their constituents got the message: We want to hear your ideas.“I’m really big on making the change that you want to see,” Poska says.v — Beth Kissinger
After completing her Ph.D., Duncan con-sidered entering the private sector but even-tually opted to accept a position with the government as a civilian research scientist.
“The commercial sector is all about the corporations’ profits, designing the next cool widget or bell or whistle on a cell phone or TV,” says Duncan, who currently divides her time between Picatinny Arsenal and serving as a visiting research fellow in the Photonics Research Center at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. “Working with the military, you’re able to develop the next generation of technology for the soldiers.”
Duncan, who specializes in materials and electromagnetics, started her government research career at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey. In 2010, she transitioned to Aberdeen Proving Ground in northeastern Maryland. She wasted no time connecting with IEEE in her new state, joining the organization’s Baltimore section and accepting a series of leadership roles. She rose from secretary to vice chair of the Baltimore section and eventually to regional director before being elected IEEE-USA president for 2021. Dun-can says her focus as president has been to bring new members and fresh perspectives into the organization.
“One of the biggest issues with most professional societies and volunteer organi-zations is that people see them as ‘old boys’ clubs,’ where it’s just a bunch of friends who run the organization,” Duncan says. One of her priorities as president was to stand up a workforce committee to examine immigra-tion reform and its effect on the electrical engineering profession. “I’ve asked a lot of people to participate in that committee who are people that I don’t know very well or who haven’t participated in this level of the organization before.”
She’s also committed to supporting the societies within IEEE-USA that focus on attract-ing more women to the field — which she says hasn’t progressed much since she joined the association more than two decades ago.
“There are certain sciences that are con-sidered ‘hard sciences,’ and electromagnetics — one of my areas — is one of them,” she says. “I think there’s a lot of work to be done to increase the pipeline of women engineers into electromagnetics and communications.” v
— Kristin Hanson
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30 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
TRADING BASEBALL FOR THE BARClosing the door on one career path and
embarking on a new one is a daunting task, but
College of Arts and Letters alumnus Robert Rob-
bins ’16 recently found himself at this crossroads
after spending three years pitching in baseball’s
minor leagues.
“I would say if you're not happy with what
you’re doing, you should change it, because
there’s no reason to go through life doing a ca-
reer you’re not enjoying,” Robbins says, while
acknowledging his privilege to make such a
change. “I mean, this is, what, 40 hours a week
at least that you’re spending [at work]? Why
would you spend it doing something that you
know you don’t want to be doing?”
It doesn’t have to be a career low point that
sets off a change of course. Robbins’ decision to
do so came after what was the pinnacle of his
baseball career to date: pitching in a Chicago
Cubs spring training game in 2019. He was
called in to close a game that 2016 World Series
Champion Jon Lester had started, with his family
and his grandfather in attendance.
When considering a new career path, listen-
ing to the experiences of others can be a good
place to start. As a Stevens student, Robbins
attended a College of Arts and Letters pre-law
professional panel, which inspired him to take
the LSAT and apply to law school before his
pro baseball career began. During one base-
ball offseason, he completed an environmental
law internship in Tallahassee, Florida, and his
minor-league life experiences introduced him to
some of the challenges faced by members of the
non-unionized American workforce. Now a law
student at the College of William & Mary in
Williamsburg, Virginia, he plans to focus on
labor law and workers’ rights.
IN this new department of The Stevens Indicator, we will share timely discussions featuring representatives of
the Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering and Science, School of Business, School of Systems
and Enterprises, and College of Arts and Letters. This is one way you can feel connected with the people and
places that formed part of the foundation for your Stevens journey — and everything after.
This first installment features conversations about careers — specifically, career changes. Accomplished
alumni from each school share thoughts about advancement and transition and advice for fellow alumni
facing similar turning points.
FALL 2021 31
“I’d like to go help workers,” says Robbins,
who served as a Peggy Brown Law Fellow at the
Laborers’ Union of North America last summer.
“I’d like to be on the ground and see the fruits of
my labor and see how I positively affect [peo-
ple’s] lives.”
Thinking about the baseball lessons he will
carry into the next chapter of his career, Robbins
reaches all the way back to his Stevens days.
“Healthy competition, I would say, made us
all better, and I think that sort of set the arche-
type for me and everything else that I do,” he
says. “Being around successful people and not
being afraid to talk to them, not being afraid to
collaborate with them and not being afraid to fail
next to them makes you better in the end.”
— Connor Durkin
HOW TO GET AHEAD IN THE CONSULTING WORLD
Qing Li M.S. ’09 is a manager at A.T. Kear-
ney, where she’s worked since joining as a senior
analyst in solutions practice in 2015. Two years
after her hiring, Li went on to win A.T. Kearney’s
Best Commercial Value Award in 2017. She is an
alumna of Stevens’ School of Systems & Enter-
prises and graduated with a master of science in
financial engineering.
In March of 2019, Li presented a seminar,
“How to Be Successful in Management Con-
sulting as a Junior Female Engineer,” as part of
the Women@SSE seminar series at Stevens.
Here, she elaborates on that theme and offers
thoughts on how young Stevens alumni can ad-
vance in this dynamic field.
What recent trends in the management consulting market should young alumni be aware of as they begin their careers in this field?
Clients are increasingly asking to see the
tangible benefits of strategic work. This means
linking the strategy, large-scale transformation
implementation, and change management work
together. For junior consultants who are in the
early stages of their career, it is critical to lever-
age data-driven analysis to improve clients’ cus-
tomer experience, enhance internal operations,
and bolster innovation with fact-based strategies.
Building up the industry “know-how” expertise
throughout their careers — e.g., understanding
client industry verticals (methodology and tech-
nology) — efficiently is definitely another plus.
Industry work is the best and fastest way to
build “know-how” expertise. Hands-on industry
experience can provide many intuitive insights
about business operations and end-to-end supply
chain. Whether it’s planning, sourcing, production
or distribution, consulting work focuses on how to
address difficult challenges in managing cost and
service level — and that’s experience you can’t get
if you jump into consulting first. Leveraging the re-
sources of the Stevens Career Center to land an
internship or full-time position with an industry
leader in consumer-packaged goods, health, ener-
gy or other field would be a great starting point in
understanding industry pain points and preparing
for a career in consulting.
What were your recommendations specifi-cally for junior female engineers seeking success in the management consulting field?
Kearney offers various opportunities for junior
female engineers to expand their network within
the firm and with relevant industry leaders. Junior
female engineers should participate in these types
of networking events in and outside of the univer-
sity setting, such as The Women’s Network, the
International Women’s Day Forum (hosted by the
United States Chamber of Commerce) and others,
to learn from role models in the field.
Another recommendation is understanding
how to lead courageous conversations — i.e.,
how to initiate discussions and promote un-
derstanding in their audience and knowing the
“helicopter” message(s) that they want the
audience to take away from the conversation.
Along with the technical capabilities, these
“soft skills” are equally important for young pro-
fessionals who want to grow into more senior
roles and become true strategic advisers.
— As told to Rachel Narozniak
ROBERT ROBBINS ’16 "I'd like to be on the ground and see the fruits of my labor, and see how I positively affect [people's] lives," Robbins says of his choice to pursue a post-baseball career in labor law.
QING LI M.S. ’09 A veteran consultant, Li encourages those interested in joining the field to gain industry- specific experience first.
“ There’s no reason to go through life doing a career you’re not enjoying.” —Robert Robbins ’16
“ Industry work is the best and fastest way to build ‘know-how’ expertise (in consulting).” —Qing Li M.S. ’09
32 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
HOW TO NETWORK IN ‘THE NEW NORMAL’
As workplaces begin to reopen this fall,
both current students and alumni may be look-
ing for opportunities to make or renew profes-
sional connections. A great resource for making
these connections is Stevens’ extensive network
of alumni and corporate partners, according to
Nicole Malantchouk ’12 M.S. ’18, assistant direc-
tor of outreach and professional advancement at
the School of Business at Stevens and an alumna
of that school.
“No matter where you are in your career, you
can find someone from the Stevens network that
can help you on your path,” she says.
Networking is essential for students starting
their careers, but strong professional relation-
ships can help anyone in a time of transition —
be that pivoting careers, developing a new skill
or vying for a promotion. Reaching out to others
doesn’t have to be intimidating, Malantchouk
stresses, because networking is, essentially, just
talking to people.
“That’s something we all know how to do,
and it’s something that many of us like doing,”
says Malantchouk, who enjoys networking so
much she’s made a career out of it. “I’m passion-
ate about Stevens and about helping people. The
outcome is connecting students with employ-
ers for the purpose of starting their careers, and
that’s fulfilling. In the role of a mentor, alumni can
have that experience, too.”
In many ways, the pandemic has made net-
working easier than ever. With video calling as
the new norm, you can connect with anyone
from anywhere. Despite that access, it’s impor-
tant to do your homework, says Malantchouk.
“Be strategic about who you’re reaching
out to and provide context as to how and why
you have identified that person,” she advises.
“Showing that strategy and that interest helps
the person receiving the request feel selected.”
Once your outreach has been successful and
you’ve scheduled a video call, it’s necessary to
set the tone of that virtual meeting so that it
isn’t too casual or informal. You shouldn’t let the
ease of networking virtually lull you into a sense
of complacency, Malantchouk says. It’s still an
opportunity to showcase your professionalism,
despite happening in your own home. Ensure
that the conversation is focused and productive
and pay special attention to your attire and your
background. This effort will project profession-
alism and show that you value the time of the
person with whom you’re connecting.
From recent graduates to established profes-
sionals, anyone can benefit from tapping into
the Stevens network. Start by doing a search
on LinkedIn for Stevens alumni in your field.
Through the Stevens network, you could find
a mentor and receive valuable advice. Malan-
tchouk encourages any alumni interested in
mentoring current business students to reach
out to her office.
“Becoming a mentor is a great way to give
back to the school that helped you get where you
are today,” she says. — Garrett Kincaid ’22
THE MEANING OF MENTORSHIP Moushmi Culver ’00 is a pharmaceutical ex-
ecutive at Merck & Co., Inc. who was recently
honored as part of Yahoo! Finance’s list of 2021
EMpower Ethnic Minority Executives. She ranks
sixth out of 100 senior leaders of color “who are
leading by example and removing barriers on
the pathway to success for ethnic minority em-
ployees.” An alumna and a member of the Board
of Advisors at Stevens’ Charles V. Schaefer, Jr.
School of Engineering and Science, she received
the Young Alumni Achievement Award from
Stevens in 2015. A passionate mentor, Culver
enjoys sharing lessons she’s learned along her
career path with others — and here, she has
some thoughts for fellow Stevens alumni.
How have you leveraged your Stevens education in your career?
Stevens has a strong technical degree pro-
gram, and I feel that I graduated prepared with
ON POINT
NICOLE MALANTCHOUK ’12 M.S. ’18 Even when meeting virtually, pay attention to your attire and your setting to show you value the time of the person you're connecting with, Malantchouk says.
MOUSHMI CULVER ’00 Mentorship not only helps improve your individual skills, Culver says, but can also help connect you with opportunities you wouldn't otherwise know about.
“ In many ways, the pandemic has made networking even easier.” — Nicole Malantchouk ’12 M.S. ’18
FALL 2021 33
a solid educational foundation. I also partici-
pated in co-op, so I graduated with a technical
background complemented with real-world
engineering experience. The Stevens educa-
tion is formatted around two concepts: one
is using technology in the classroom, and the
other is working in diverse groups and teams
in a smaller environment. These experiences
prepared me for the workplace.
What advice would you offer women and minorities in navigating their careers?
You need to make sure you surround your-
self with people who are going to help sup-
port you. That can be in the form of your di-
rect manager, a mentor, a sponsor or a coach.
Sometimes, depending on the kind of the job
you have, especially in technical areas, you
may be faced with challenges especially as a
female of color. You can learn to navigate your
environment and then strive for a position of
leadership where you can impact the culture
from your experiences. During my career at
Merck, I’ve been fortunate to have some amaz-
ing people around me who have supported me
and helped me navigate difficult situations as a
minority female leader in the company — and
now I am able to give back and help others.
Why is mentorship and building a strong support system important for a person’s career?
I think mentorship and support are impor-
tant because you need to obtain feedback on
your areas of strength and development. A
mentor can help you address that feedback and
give you advice on how to improve. Having a
sponsor is also important — they are the ones
who help you become known when opportuni-
ties arise. I contribute my success to multiple
people, one being one of my former managers
who is now retired. [He was a diverse leader]
and he gave me advice on how to accept
feedback, course-correct (because no one is
perfect), and continue to improve yourself.
To close, what words of wisdom do you have for fellow alumni?
Be open-minded to try different things and
take on challenges. There are roles I’ve had
in my career that I didn’t realize I’d be doing.
I took some risks, took on some challenges
and accepted roles that stretched me.
— As told to Kyla Buckingham
“ I took some risks, took on some challenges and accepted roles that stretched me.” — Moushmi Culver ’00
You can read more about Culver’s career path at stevens.edu/culver
PLUG IN TO YOUR STEVENS NETWORKDo you need career information or advice from fellow alumni in your field? Or are you looking to hire current Stevens students?
“No matter where you are in your career,” says Nicole Malantchouk '12 M.S. '18, “you can find someone from the Stevens network that can help you on your path.”
Widen your professional network by joining the Stevens Alumni Association LinkedIn group. And for various hiring opportunities with Stevens students, please contact the Stevens Career Center at 201-216-5166 or [email protected].
leaning out childhood items re-cently, Antonia Zaferiou came across some of her grade-school
writing. “I do everything with music,” it read. “When I walk, I listen to the beat of my footfalls.”
Today, that music echoes through her research. Her research group is evaluat-ing how generating a drum beat for each footfall and other sounds affect move-ment strategies. The music also hums through a sample video on her website in which a dancer sways and bends, dips and twists, the dancer’s body dotted with sensors, as all around her a droning sound rises and falls in pitch, controlled by motions.
Zaferiou, an assistant professor in Stevens’ Department of Biomedical En-gineering, uses sound-based biofeed-back to improve balance and mobility. Her work at the Musculoskeletal Control
and Dynamics Lab examines how people balance during whole-body rotations — as when we turn around corners in our homes or turn abruptly toward someone calling our name — and how sound-based biofeedback can be used to im-prove balance during those movements.
“We’re seeking to improve and pre-serve mobility,” Zaferiou says, adding that fall mitigation is a significant part of that. “If we think about older-adult health, it has almost become assumed that older adults will fall, but it’s a really big issue in quality of life and mortality.”
Zaferiou’s research toward reducing fall risk will be furthered by two recent grants. A National Science Founda-tion CAREER Award in the amount of $822,200 centers on how machine learning and wearable technology can be used to identify balance and gait defi-cits in fall-prone older adults and deliver
auditory feedback to improve balance while walking. A National Institutes of Health Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Engineering Research Career Develop-ment Program grant in the amount of $125,000 is supporting Zaferiou’s clinical research training and her work to under-stand the role of rhythm in sound-based biofeedback.
Rehabilitation facilities often use a timed beat from a device like a metro-nome to help patients learn or re-learn a cyclical movement like walking in a straight line. But studies have also sug-gested that older adults and adults with Parkinson’s disease may improve even more if they sing or create their own rhythm, literally walking to the beat of their own drum. One question Zaferiou aims to answer is whether sonification — conveying data from an individual’s movement through sound in real-time —
34 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
RESEARCH
would function more like an external cue (e.g., a metronome) or an internal cue (e.g., a song in your head).
“If you’re working with a patient trying to do a cyclical movement like walking in a straight line, maybe that metronome is fine,” Zaferiou says. “But if that per-son has to turn — and 50 percent of our walking steps are turns — does a fixed external rhythm conflict with the task or impose on them to alter their preferred turn timing?”
The sonification studies are in early stages of lab-based research. In regard to developing sonified balance biofeed-back, Zaferiou is currently examining the interplay between the sway of the body as it walks and the contact its feet have simultaneously with the ground, study-ing the center of mass positioning rela-tive to the feet.
“We’re trying to put the context for
balance and the dynamics of balance to-gether,” she says. “We’re learning a lot every single week. It’s in early stages, but we’re making sure we build a system that’s going to really help people bal-ance.”
Her current clinical research focus is with older adults, but the technology could apply across multiple populations, including people with Parkinson’s dis-ease, multiple sclerosis or autism and sensory disorders. Future funding could be used to grow the lab group to pur-sue some of these clinical applications, pay human subject participants — who often struggle with mobility issues and miss work to contribute to the research — and support collaboration with sound designers.
Someday down the road, Zaferiou envisions scenarios where older people might walk into a community-center
type of lab for a sonic tune-up, to prac-tice their motor and balance skills and at home, to use personalized wearable sonification technology that would alert them to concerning changes in their
gait and balance on a day-to-day basis. “They would know what their move-
ments normally sound like, and if they wake up the next day and it sounded different, they would be aware of that change and equipped to address an is-sue in its early stages,” she says.
Alhough that is a long-term goal, to-day, the lab is opening the door to a host of discoveries.
“My Ph.D., undergraduate, and high school students will say ‘Check out this graph,’ and ‘Wow, no one has ever seen this before’ — and in these phases of do-ing these experiments, it happens quite often,” Zaferiou says. “Then that little spark of ‘No one has seen this before,’ quickly turns to ‘How do we explain this to people, how do we share and use this discovery?’” — Tracy Vogel
FALL 2021 35
To learn more about Zaferiou’s work and watch videos from her lab, visit www.zaferioulab.com
In the Musculoskeletal Control and Dynamics Lab, which opened earlier this year in the EAS Building, Zaferiou and her team work with dancers to determine how sound-based biofeedback can improve balance.
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36 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
IN MEMORIAM
Friendly. Witty. Kind. Vibrant. Generous. Inspiring. A wonderful professor, and a wonderful soul.
These are just some of the admiring words that friends, colleagues, former students and others have used when re-membering Sophia Hassiotis, who died on June 13, 2021, after a 22-year career as a highly respected and much-loved professor of civil engineering at Stevens.
Since joining Stevens in 1999 as an associate professor, Hassiotis served on campus committees, was elected sev-eral times to the Faculty Senate and served on the Board of Trustees’ committees on alumni and development and fa-cilities. She had spent nearly two decades helping complete the civil engineering program’s reports for the Accredita-tion Board for Engineering and Technology and recently served as the associate chair for undergraduate studies of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engi-neering. Hassiotis was also an active professional structural engineer, most recently working to analyze damage precur-sors to steel structures around the state through a grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation along-side her Stevens colleague Dimitri Donskoy.
In 2013, when she was honored as the first woman ever to receive the Stevens Alumni Association’s Outstand-ing Teacher Award, she reflected on her role. “My job as a teacher is to make them fall in love with the subject,” she said. “I love the subject and I want them to see the beauty in it. I want them to be as ready as they can be for the future.”
In August, Hassiotis posthumously received the Ameri-can Society of Civil Engineers (New Jersey branch) Educa-tor of the Year Award.
“Sophia was the ‘heart’ of the civil engineering depart-ment at Stevens,” says Leslie Brunell ’86 M.Eng. ’90 Ph.D. ’96, a fellow Stevens professor and longtime friend of Hassiotis. “Her focus was always on the students and how our program could best meet their needs.”
In addition to excelling as a teacher, Hassiotis was an ar-dent advocate for increasing diversity and inclusion at Stevens.
“She was very active, and always did what needed to be done,” says Dibyendu Sarkar, one of Hassiotis’ office neighbors and a professor of environmental engineering at Stevens.
“She was everywhere, fighting for making the university more diverse, bringing in more female faculty members and more LGBTQ people on campus.”
She also had a commitment to the women she mentored, coached and guided during her tenure. “Professor Hassiotis was an inspiration to me, especially as a female in engineer-ing,” says Kiley Rode ’07. “She was always so energetic and vibrant. She always had trust and respect for her students.”
“She served as a mentor to me when I began my aca-demic career and instilled in me the importance of being dedicated to our students,” Brunell says.
Hassiotis’ passion extended to just about every corner of her life, from coffee to her pride in her Greek heritage. She was known on more than one occasion to declare: “There are two kinds of people in this world: Greeks and barbarians.”
She was also devoted to her family, including her daughter, Demi, her two sisters and her mother, who still lives in Greece.
“Her life was Demi and the university,” Sarkar said. “Her legacy here at Stevens is her dedication to building the civil engineering program and teaching. Sophia Hassiotis and the department — you can’t take one from the other.”
“She will be missed on so many levels, and it will certainly take several people to fill the void this one small, brilliant and dynamic woman has left,” Brunell says.
A campus memorial service will be held at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 20 at Gateway South, Room 122, with a reception to follow in Gateway North, Room 103. — Lisa Rouh and Staff Reports
Sophia HassiotisRemembering
FALL 2021 37
W inning a national championship is a difficult task. Athletes train their
entire lives building toward a single event where, for a moment in time, they are the very best at what they do.
Now imagine doing that during a global pandemic, where vital steps in the athletic process, such as weight training, practices and competitions, are subject to constant disruptions and cancellations.
Then add the typical rigors of being in college, including an intense workload of doctoral-level coursework.
Which brings us to Gina Dello Russo ’20 M.S. ’21.
A doctoral student in socio-technical systems, Dello Russo became the eighth national champion in Stevens track & field history on May 29, 2021, when she topped the field in the 400-meter dash with a time of 54.17 seconds. She shattered both her own school records and the previous fastest time in the Middle Atlantic Conference.
The track on the campus of North Caro-lina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina, had been soaked with a steady rain throughout the afternoon, but Dello Russo took control of the race in the final turn and held off a late charge to post what is believed to be the 20th-fastest time in Division III history.
It was yet another achievement for the 12-time All-American, who had her na-
tional championship hopes in 2020 derailed by the pandemic.
“A major challenge at the beginning of the pandemic was the closure of all parks, tracks and gyms,” Dello Russo says. “This meant a lot of running in the street and down the sidewalk without proper mea-surements and running surfaces. It also meant that my strength training was limited to bodyweight circuits and any creative workouts I could think of.”
That dedication and persistence paid off for Dello Russo, who began the journey to her championship as a master’s student and finished as a doctoral student. Along the way, she earned her fourth Academic All-District selection — more times than any other Stevens student-athlete in history — and was named a Top 30 honoree for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
“From one perspective, I knew before I started the 2021 season that I was going to win a national championship,” Dello Russo recalls. “I was on the fence about compet-ing this year, but when I spoke with [Coach Veronica Montrose], the two of us silently acknowledged the fact that we would have to suffer the commute and long days together this year because in the end, I had a really good chance of winning. My goal was always to bring Coach Montrose on the podium with me (which you only get to do if you win).”
As for when during the race she knew the title would be hers, Dello Russo points to the 300-meter mark.
“Sometimes during a 400 or a 4x400, you can just tell you’re going to pass someone; there’s this feeling about the relative motion between yourself and the person ahead of you, where you simply know you will over-take them before reaching the finish line,” she says. “Going into the race, I was excited that I would be racing against an athlete who likes to hit the first 200 meters really hard, because I knew I’d have someone to chase down at the end, and those are the instances where I perform the best.” v — Charles O’Brien
Bumpy Roads Lead to Beautiful PlacesPh.D. student navigated pandemic restrictions, courseload to win national title
Read more about Dello Russo at stevens.edu/gdellorusso
Gina Dello Russo ’20 M.S. ’21 sprints to victory, top, and claims the 400-meter dash national title.
SPORTS UPDATEPH
OTO
S: D3 PH
OTO
GR
APH
Y, STEV
ENS A
TH
LETIC
S
38 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
D uring a recent review of unprocessed materials in the archives, Leah Loscutoff, head of archives and special collections,
learned of a yellow envelope postmarked January 21, 1941. The envelope bears an intriguing return ad-dress printed in simple block letters: “The Secretary of Labor, Washington.” Inside, three pages of em-bossed letterhead provide a window into the ongo-ing correspondence of two notable women — Mary Stuart Stevens Baird and Frances Perkins. Here, Loscutoff shares the find with The Stevens Indicator, explaining the significance of these individuals and what they were discussing.
TWO INFLUENTIAL PEN PALSStevens Baird, the recipient of the letter, was the
granddaughter of Edwin A. Stevens and Martha Bayard Stevens, the founders of Stevens Institute of Technology. Born at the family estate (affectionately known as Castle Stevens) in 1901, she lived on Castle Point until around 1910, when the structure was sold to the university for use as administrative office and dormitory space. Stevens Baird maintained close ties to the university throughout her life, serving as an honorary member of the Board of Trustees and host-ing an annual treasure hunt and picnic at her Ber-nardsville, New Jersey, estate. She also donated the vast Stevens Family Collection to the Samuel C. Wil-liams Library, now on permanent display in a room bearing her name.
Prior to the United States’ involvement in World War II, Stevens Baird worked with Young America, a branch of the English war relief effort, serving refu-gees in the United Kingdom. Later, she served as an investigator for the U.S. Army, Second Service Com-
mand. Like other members of the Stevens family, she was deeply committed to the cause of prison reform, serving on a variety of correctional executive boards in New York and New Jersey over 30 years. In the late 1940s, she represented the United States at the International Penal and Penitentiary Congress at The Hague.
Perkins, the letter’s author, had an exceptional re-cord of public service. Holding a master’s degree in economics and sociology from Columbia University, she became head of the New York office of the Na-tional Consumers League in 1910. The following year, Perkins witnessed the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, in which 146 workers died because of the building’s lack of fire escapes and other safety mea-sures. The tragedy inspired her to lobby for worker’s rights — especially the interests of women and chil-dren — through various positions within the New York state government.
Mary Stuart Stevens Baird, circa 1920s ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, SAMUEL C. WILLIAMS LIBRARY,
STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
EDITOR’S NOTE: “OUT OF THE ARCHIVES” IS A NEW DEPARTMENT
WITHIN THE INDICATOR DEDICATED TO TELLING THE
STORIES BEHIND LESSER-KNOWN OBJECTS AND ARTIFACTS FROM
THE SAMUEL C. WILLIAMS LIBRARY’S ARCHIVES & SPECIAL
COLLECTIONS. EXPLORE MORE AT LIBRARY.STEVENS.EDU/ARCHIVES
A LETTER FROM FRANCES PERKINS, FIRST FEMALE U.S.
SECRETARY OF LABOR, REVEALS HER FRIENDSHIP WITH
A STEVENS FAMILY MEMBER
OUT OF THE ARCHIVES
FALL 2021 39
After getting to know her during his time as gov-ernor of New York, President Franklin Delano Roos-evelt nominated Perkins to join his cabinet as Secre-tary of Labor in 1933. The first woman to serve in a U.S. presidential cabinet, she worked on some of the New Deal’s most influential initiatives, including the Social Security Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which established a minimum wage, maxi-mum weekly working hours and a ban on child labor in select industries.
A PEEK INTO THEIR CORRESPONDENCEThough Loscutoff says it is unclear how these
women met or when they began their correspon-dence, the familiarity and depth of the letter suggest that they built a strong friendship. The letter discusses Stevens Baird’s recent quarantine after measles expo-sure, references to FDR’s famous “The Four Freedoms speech” and a suggestion to Stevens Baird by Perkins
that she should get in contact with the Women’s Divi-sion of the National Democratic Committee.
Without the context of earlier letters, some pas-sages remain vague, such as the following assertion by Perkins: ”I am coming more and more to the feeling that we are in a phase of world development when it is ideas that count more than actions. I have always been an activist and tended to scorn the peo-ple who sat in ivory towers and thought. Now I think we may perish here in America for lack of the ability to formulate and adhere to ideas.”
Because the letter was written in early 1941, Los-cutoff believes Perkins could have been reacting to the spread of Nazi rhetoric throughout Europe and what that might mean for a neutral United States. “I think American people at the time were more isolationist. They didn’t want to get involved in a war that was overseas,” says Loscutoff. “But I think they were realiz-ing that we couldn’t just sit by and let this happen.” By the end of the year, the idea of war became reality fol-lowing the attack by Japanese forces on Pearl Harbor.
The letter holds a unique place in the Stevens ar-chives, serving as an example of intellectual dialogue between two women about the state of the world dur-ing a time when women weren’t expected to be vo-cal about politics. By sharing ideas and taking action for change, both women moved important social and political causes forward, helping to pave the way for the next generation of women in public service. — Erin Lewis
Frances Perkins, 1933 FRANCES PERKINS PAPERS, RARE BOOK & MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK
Read the full letter at stevens.edu/perkins-letter
” I am coming more and more to the feeling that we are in a phase
of world development when it is ideas that count more than actions.
I have always been an activist and tended to scorn the people
who sat in ivory towers and thought. Now I think we may perish
here in America for lack of the ability to formulate and adhere to
ideas.“ — Frances Perkins, in a letter to Mary Stuart Stevens Baird
OUR CAMPAIGN.OUR IMPACT.
OUR CAMPAIGN.OUR IMPACT.
OUR CAMPAIGN.OUR IMPACT.
Campaign by the NumbersThe Power of Stevens results are in!
The Power of Stevens campaign is one of the most successful endeavors in Stevens history, nearly doubling the results of the previous campaign. The statistics on this spread show the impact of the campaign, which launched to lift the university to a new level.
Alumni and friends found inspiration in the priorities of enabling student success, promoting faculty excellence and building a vibrant campus. Every dollar of every gift added up to reach this historic achievement. The numbers here represent the impact that philanthropy from a broad community has had on the university’s thriving present and promising future.
Giving by Constituency
Every Gift Counts
$200.6M Total Raised
14,362 Total Donors
46,001Total Gifts 50%
Gifts Under $100
43Gifts of $1M+
37%Alumni Campaign
Donors Made Their First Time Gift
Non-Alumni Individuals
$26.7M Corporations & Foundations
$55.7M
Alumni$118.2M
To learn more about The Power of Stevens campaign and its impact, follow us on Facebook @stevens.alumni and on Instagram @stevensalumni.
*All figures represent the period from July 1, 2013 – June 30, 2021 unless otherwise noted.
Giving by Priority
Student Success $126.3M
Faculty Excellence $27.5M
A Vibrant Campus $46.8M
158
18
22.7%
49.4%
100%
1000+/-
95%
40.8%
New Scholarships Established
New Chairs and Fellowships Established
Increase in Full-Time Faculty (Fall 2013-2020)
Increase in Sponsored Research Awards (Fall 2013-2020)
Classrooms Renovated
Students Will Reside in the University Center Complex
Class of 2020 Secured Outcomes within 6 months of graduation
Increase in Undergraduate Enrollment (Fall 2013-2020)
42 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
T hose who knew him loved him, for his many acts of kindness, great and small, over five decades. Three generations of Stevens
alumni, faculty and staff members have re-cently shared just some of these stories of love, friendship and lasting gratitude in honor of professor Charles Suffel Hon. M.Eng. ’85, who passed away on Feb. 4, 2021.
Suffel —“Charlie” — served Stevens for more than 50 years, mostly as an award-winning professor of mathematics and later as dean of graduate studies. Whether they sat in his classroom 50 years ago or worked alongside him just last year, it is striking how consistently he is remembered: a person of integrity and kindness, a warm and positive spirit, a gifted mathematician, a caring teacher, a man of humility, “a man for all seasons.”
After learning of Suffel’s passing, Brian King ’83 M.S. ’87 offered a long tribute to his former professor.
“I’m certain that in most instances, he was the smartest person in the room, but he never portrayed himself that way,” King writes. He remembers Suffel as an approachable, witty professor who stood apart and offered much-needed encouragement as King weighed career options after Stevens. Many years later, King found himself back at Stevens with his son, then a prospective student. There was Suffel in a classroom, at a whiteboard full of mathematical equations, still deeply fascinated by his area of study, gracious as always.
“He helped me as a teenage undergrad, as a young engineer figuring out career plans and decades later as a parent,” King writes. “Rest in peace, Charlie. You made the world a better place.”
A longtime friend and former student, Rev.
A ‘Man for All Seasons’
IN MEMORIAM
Gabriel Costa ’70 M.S. ’72 Ph.D. ’84 notes that Suffel’s life revolved around three passions: God, his family and friends, and his teaching and research of mathematics.
Suffel was a multiple award winner for his teaching and research — even a black belt in karate — but never one to dwell on his achievements, Costa says.
“His math research speaks for itself,” he says. “And he had a legion of Ph.D. students who not only respected him but loved him.”
Suffel joined Stevens in 1969 as assistant professor of mathematics, rising to associ-ate professor and later professor in 1979. He served as dean of graduate studies from 1995 to 2015 before rejoining the faculty ranks.
He was a two-time winner of the Stevens Alumni Association Outstanding Teacher Award and received the Henry Morton Dis-tinguished Teaching Professor Award. He was also a co-recipient of the Jess H. Davis Memo-rial Award for Research Excellence. Suffel advised 17 doctoral students during his career, with his research focusing on graph and net-work theory and the reliability of networks.
Among his fellow faculty members, Suffel
was known as a strong advocate for students — and who expected the same of his colleagues.
“Most of all, I remember his passion for students,” says computer science professor David Naumann. “They told me his teach-ing was great. What I saw firsthand was his energy as dean, always devoted to the best interests of students. He would call me from time to time, to check whether I was giving enough attention to one or another research student. Charlie won’t be forgotten.”
Staff members all across campus spoke of a positive spirit that was infectious.
“He was so positive and encouraging,” says Linda Habermann-Ward, a former as-sistant in the Department of Mathematical Sciences and a close friend. “He always had a kind word and a smile. You couldn’t help but feel happiness when you saw him walk in.”
Professor Suffel is survived by his daugh-ter, Dorothy Rose Bousseau, and her husband, Larry Pisano; his son, Charles Laurence Suffel, and his wife, Jennifer; and his two grandchil-dren. A memorial service at Stevens will be announced at a future date. — Kyla Buckingham and Beth Kissinger
From left, Suffel with Math Department colleagues Ralph Tindell, Roger Pinkham and Peter Brady ’61 M.S. ’63, in 1973.
TH
E LINK
alumninews
SAA President’s Letter 44 | Logs 45-71 | SAA Update 48 | Graduate Log 56 | Vitals 62 | A Final Thought 72
READY FOR CLASSOne of the pioneering first class of female undergraduates at Stevens, Deborah (Naas) O'Rourke '75 arrives on campus for Freshman Move-In Day in 1971. See a photo of Deborah from her graduation day on page 60.
See page 70 to learn the identity of the student who appeared on this page in our Spring/Summer '21 issue!
PHOTO: ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, SAMUEL C. WILLIAMS LIBRARY, STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
44 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
Alumni Pride and Dedication Shine Brightly During An Extraordinary Year
Dear Alumni,
Throughout the years, one of my favorite
parts of attending alumni events has been listen-
ing to the stories shared by alumni about their
time on Castle Point, the path that got them here
and where they have been since. Each one is
different yet interconnected. After all, as alumni,
we have all become a part of the Stevens family
legacy.
Our story as an Alumni Association began
145 years ago, on July 1, 1876, when a group of
25 young men — recent earners of mechanical
engineering degrees — gathered in Institute Hall
(now the Edward A. Stevens Building). Today, our community has grown
to 50,000 members worldwide with undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D.
degrees across four colleges.
That our Alumni Association was able to successfully weather the chal-
lenges of the coronavirus pandemic is a testament to Thomas Moschello
’63 M.S. ’65, who began an overhaul of the SAA Constitution and Bylaws
during his SAA presidency in 2012-2014. One of the changes made was
simple: moving from paper to digital election ballots. But it would have
tremendous impact, spurring a new governance structure that would be
crucial when the pandemic prevented in-person activity. It would also allow
us to have leadership representation from across the U.S. and abroad, while
we actively recruit volunteers globally. (Please visit our website, alumni.
stevens.edu, to learn more about your fellow alumni who form the Stevens
Alumni Association Board of Directors.)
My point is that every Alumni Association volunteer makes a difference.
I am deeply grateful to the volunteers who helped make the transition to
virtual engagement so successful. Since July 2018, there have been many
who have given of their time and talents to guide our association to where
we are today. I would like to thank the stalwart committee chairs who went
above and beyond the call of duty, especially Suzanne D’Addio ’07, Michael
Cahill ’15, Phil Crowley ’71 and John McDonnell ’72. As their terms in
leadership conclude, please join me in thanking them for their service to our
community.
Through the pandemic, we have kept the fires of alumni pride burning
brightly. When we couldn’t gather in person, we gathered virtually. Our
latest celebration — our extended Red and Gray Days, which kicked off
during our 100th Alumni Weekend in June — are a testament to this. Our
Association Annual Meeting was an informative snapshot of the activities
from the past year and offered a glimpse into the
year ahead. We celebrated our award recipients
for 2020 and 2021, caught up on the State of
Stevens with President Farvardin, took virtual
campus tours and shared memories through
virtual milestone class reunions. Our Red and Gray
Days continued throughout the summer and fall
with presentations by campus partners on topics
of interest to alumni: Stevens’ fall 2021 athletics
outlook, navigating the undergraduate admis-
sions process, and diversity, equity and inclusion
on Castle Point.
In just three years, we will welcome our
trail-blazing first undergraduate alumnae into the
Old Guard, from the Class of 1975. As I serve as the 126th President of the
SAA (as only the third woman, following Maureen Weatherall ’78 M.M.S.
’78 and Mary Doddy ’80), I consider it an honor to do so alongside other
alumnae volunteer leaders serving as SAA Directors: Suzanne D’Addio
’07, Kaitlin Gili ’20, Joelle Hinds ’93, Dawn Madak ’89, Cristina V. Martinez
’94, Katherine Matos ’08, Lauren Mayer ’12, Elizabeth Pallone ’88, Rachele
Smith ’81, Hailey Tanner ’21 and Martha (Patty) Torres ’01. Each woman
has her own story to tell. And now, after thriving in the world beyond the
Stevens gates, they are sharing their experiences and lessons learned with
those that follow, doing their part to keep the flame burning bright!
As we continue to celebrate the impact undergraduate women have
had on Castle Point over the past half century, I invite you to share your
memories from your time on campus for inclusion in Celebrating 50 Years
of Women at Stevens at stevens.edu/womenatstevens
If you are reading this, it is likely you are already involved in our alumni
community. But if you are not and want to jump in, I extend you an invita-
tion. Find a project that you’re passionate about, and we’ll connect you to
something relevant at Stevens. And bring a friend!
Sincerely,
Victoria Velasco ’04
President
Stevens Alumni Association
SAA President’s Letter
FALL 2021 45
tual curiosity, graciousness and caring for others.
He never thought there was a problem that
couldn’t be solved, didn’t focus on his age (“It is
only a number”) and loved telling stories about
his fascinating life. While his life wasn’t easy (he
lost his father when he was 18, lost his only two
siblings to different diseases within a 24-hour
period in 1966, and his wife got sick very soon
after he retired), he never dwelled on negative
situations. Throughout his life, he loved playing
pool, bowling and boating, and took up golf at
age 76. He drove for over 70 years without a
ticket or an accident. He loved Frank Sinatra, who
also was from Hoboken, and he actually thought
he could sing like Frank! He will be missed by all
who knew him, but they will be comforted by
many wonderful memories.
John is survived by his three daughters, Carol
(John) Mallon, Nancy Schlichting (Pam Theisen)
and Joan (Tim) Keifling; a son, John (Eileen); five
grandchildren, and a nephew. He is predeceased
by his wife, Elizabeth.
’46 July 2, 2021 — While the Class
Logs include the obligation to
relay sad news as well as more
cheerful updates, it is surely the least-pleasant
duty of a class secretary to transmit an obituary,
particularly when — in this case — it involves a
close friend and Navy V-12 barracks mate.
John Albert Misteli passed away peacefully
in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on January 26,
2021, at the age of 95. He had a stroke in June
2020 and never fully recovered. John was born
on April 6, 1925, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He
graduated from Stevens in 1946 and began his
career as a mechanical engineer. In 1956, John
married Star Romoski, and they adopted their
son, Tom, in 1968. John spent much of his career
with Pratt & Whitney/United Technologies; he
retired in 1993. He was a member of the Military
Officers Association of America and volunteered
at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center for
’44Editor’s Note: The family of John
Schlichting shared this tribute to
their father and grandfather, who
passed away last year at the age 97. The Indicator
staff expresses our deep sympathy to his family.
John SchlichtingJohn Schlichting passed away peacefully at
Cedarbrook Senior Living in Bloomfield Hills,
Michigan, on April 28, 2020, at the age of 97. His
daughter, Nancy, was able to be with him during
his final days.
After his graduation from Stevens, John
taught descriptive geometry and analytical
drawing at the university to returning GIs from
World War II.
He met Elizabeth Cook on a blind date, which
took place on his boat “Peggy Dash” while sailing
on the Hudson River, and they were married in
1949. After the birth of his first two children,
Carol and Nancy, he joined Babcock & Wilcox Co.
(B&W) in New York City in 1955 and began his
37-year career as a nuclear engineer and inven-
tor, earning eight patents. He was a member of
Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honorary society.
John was transferred to Akron, Ohio, with
B&W in 1957, and he and his wife had two more
children, John and Joan. He and his family were
then transferred to Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1972,
returning to Akron five years later, where he and
his wife lived for the next 27 years. John retired
from B&W at the age of 70, and then spent three
years caring for his wife, before she died in 1996.
John’s retirement was filled with many trips to
visit and travel with his children and grandchil-
dren, who live in Michigan, Maryland, Georgia
and Ohio, as well as special trips back to Stevens
for his 60th and 70th college reunions. In 2004,
John moved to Michigan and lived at Henry Ford
Village in Dearborn for 13 years, before spending
his final two years at Cedarbrook.
John was beloved by his family, friends and
caregivers for his positivity, good humor, intellec-
over 25 years. He will be deeply missed by his
friends and colleagues, by those whose lives he
touched through his volunteer work, and by his
surviving family.
Things you might never have known about
Charles O. “Charlie” Gunther (Class of 1900),
professor of mathematics and ordnance engi-
neering:
Although I understand that Charlie was not
“beloved” by all classes during the long span
of his career at the university, he was certainly
a man to remember — with admiration, awe
and even fondness — by our section of ’46 for
his positive influence. Until I browsed through
my own library and surfed the internet, I hadn’t
realized that he had found time over the years
to publish some of his expertise. We knew him
for his side interest in ballistic studies, but I
have a mint copy of his first book, published in
1907, called INTEGRATION by Trigonometric and
Imaginary Substitution. In 1943–45, he was still
distributing to the students in our section his
Notes on MATHEMATICS, Prepared for the Use of
the Sophomores at Stevens Institute of Technology, a
pamphlet printed in 1937.
Equally interesting, in 1935 Charles and his
brother, Jack, published The Identification of
Firearms: From Ammunition Fired Therein With an
Analysis of Legal Authorities. The 1930s provided
impressive breakthroughs in the field of forensic
ballistics, or firearms identification. Following the
Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929, where
ballistics expert Calvin Goddard’s testimony
brought attention to the relatively new field, sev-
eral forensic ballistic books were published.
The Gunthers’ The Identification of Firearms
combined the approaches of these volumes into
a new book that emphasized the painstaking
scientific methodology vital to firearms identi-
fication, complete with ballistics photographs,
and its practical use by analyses of several legal
cases where firearms identification was used.
These include the infamous Sacco and Vanzetti
case. The Gunther brothers applied their respec-
tive legal and military experience (Jack was an
attorney and Charlie was a lieutenant colonel in
the U.S. Army Ordnance Department) to provide
a comprehensive reference volume that is note-
worthy for those interested in law enforcement
or ballistics, as well as gun enthusiasts. The book
is still in print. I’ve just purchased a copy.
Whether published or perished, Charlie,
Dick Boera ’46 remembers Professor Charles O. “Charlie” Gunther Class of 1900 in his class log. Here are two of Gunther’s books that Dick owns, and a portrait of the professor.
Class Logs
46 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
Don’t see your class log listed? Send an update to [email protected] or call 201-216-5161.
you’re still tops among our favorites. Though
most of us have forgotten it since, differential
and integral calculus were firmly drilled into our
gray matter when we left Hoboken behind!
Another loss to our ’46 class: We learned
recently that Leon Edward Sealey passed away
on September 26, 2019, in Gainesville, Florida, at
age 93. He originally moved to Florida from New
York State in 2016 with his wife, Virginia (who
died in 2017), to be closer to family. Leon was
born on December 7, 1925, in Nanticoke, Penn-
sylvania. He graduated from Bloomfield High
School in New Jersey where he met his first wife,
Lillian Sestilio (who died in 1977). The couple
owned and operated a dance studio in Upstate
New York, which grew into the Tri-City Ballet
Guild. Leon was not only a brilliant engineer but
also an accomplished tap and ballroom dancer.
He assisted his wife in producing several ballets
for stage and TV throughout the Northeast. They
had one child, Cynthia (Sealey) Grayson. Leon
later married Virginia Mills in Lake George, New
York; they resided in the Schenectady area for
over 50 years. Leon was an ensign in the U.S.
Navy during World War II, stationed in Hono-
lulu and Japan. He also served in the Merchant
Marines. He received his bachelor’s degree
in engineering from Stevens and his master’s
degree in mechanical engineering from the Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology. After the war,
Leon worked as a supervisor in the Schenectady
GE plant, designing, building and testing turbine
engines. He and Virginia, retired from GE, spent
many years together traveling and operating a
woodworking and crafts business.
On a happier closing note, Henry Zimmerman — the last name on our roster — is still “holding
the fort” in Akron, Ohio, though not traveling
much these days. He salutes all of us ’46 fellow
survivors. — A. Richard Boera, Allen Harbor, 90 Allen Road, Apt. 27, South Burlington, Vermont 05403. (802) 495-5815; [email protected]
’48 July 17, 2021 — These two Stevens
’48 (plus me) are among our
living classmates: Curt Van
Valkenburgh, [email protected], (631) 751-
0575; and Jim Ware, [email protected] , (714)
832-0743. And I have no recent word from Curt
or Jim. So, my report is just me.
My wife, Sally, and I are both doing great.As
stated earlier, my construction operations have
ceased. I have six books published. From the
“History Series”: Struggle of Titans, Death of an
Empire, and Republic in Discord. From the “Human
Status Series”: Who and Why are We, Our Human
Destiny, and Our Future as Humans, with two more
being written, plus another 20-30 to go.
My books are published by BookLocker.com,
Inc., St. Petersburg, Florida. They are available
from Amazon.
Sally is active in our community, playing
serious bridge and active with her many friends.I
walk two miles, most days.— Lou Shook, 757-428-1952; [email protected]
’50 July 2021 — Kurt Graf provided
this report about his father,
William Graf: Wow! Three
sons, three engineers.
“I saw your article while showing William
some Stevens websites. He is 93 now and has
some memory problems. He still remembers
Stevens, where he started from nearby Cliffside
Park High School in 1943. He enlisted in the
military in the fall of 1945 and served and then
returned to Stevens. He has three sons and two
granddaughters. He has been widowed since
1993. He played soccer and lacrosse at Stevens
and worked for 30 years for Getty Oil Company
until he retired in 1985. He currently resides in
Orange City, Florida.
“William’s three sons all have engineering
degrees: His oldest son, an agricultural engineer,
graduated from the University of Delaware and
works for a power company in Virginia. I am an
electrical engineer and graduated from the Uni-
versity of Central Florida. I work in construction
tech and live close to William in Central Florida.
His youngest son, a mechanical engineer, grad-
uated from the University of Central Florida and
works at NASA in Southern Florida. William’s
oldest and youngest sons each have a daughter;
one is a college graduate and one is currently in
college.”
Frank Seiden writes: “Greetings from Califor-
nia, where I have been living since March 2008.
We moved here from Long Island, New York, to
be near our grandchildren. (My wife passed away
early this year, so it is no longer “we.”) I look
back on my years at Stevens feeling gratitude for
being well prepared for the engineering world. In
those days, there was only a general engineering
course with three electives in technical subjects
and two in humanities. The only degree was
M.E., considered a professional degree.
“After two years in the Army during the
Korean War, I worked as a mechanical engineer
for several years, first at Worthington Corp. and
then Sperry, and got an M.S. in mechanical en-
gineering from Stevens in 1957. After working at
Sperry, an electronics company, for a few years,
I realized that a mechanical engineer had limited
potential for progress, so I then got a master’s in
control systems from Brooklyn Polytechnic In-
stitute (now Polytechnic Institute of New York),
which served me well. It qualified me to work on
inertial navigation, which I did for 30 years until I
retired at the end of 1991.
“When I started at Stevens in March 1946,
not too long after my 17th birthday, Hoboken was
the city shown in the movie On the Waterfront.
It was a longshoreman’s town. There were 30
bars on River Street between the Lackawanna
Railroad station and 4th Street. Ten of them were
between 3rd and 4th Streets; they filled the block
except for two liquor stores stuck between the
bars. There were a lot of rooftop pigeon coops.
“World War II had ended the previous Au-
gust, and there was a mass return of veterans,
many of whom took advantage of the GI Bill and
enrolled in colleges. Stevens at that time was
all male. Our freshman class was 90% veterans
and the rest civilians. Naturally, I was the baby
of the class, with only about four civilians in the
classroom. I sat next to Martin Selling, the oldest
in the class, who was 28. About a month after
the start of the term, I was out sick, and the math
instructor, also a veteran, took attendance and
asked, ‘Where’s Junior today?’ From then on,
everyone called me Junior until our senior year,
when some started calling me ‘Frank.’ Many of
the men didn’t know that was my name.
“I had written poems over the years since I
was in high school, and I made that my hobby
when I retired. About five years later, I found a
writing workshop that I joined, which improved
my writing. After about eight years, I was asked
to lead a workshop for the non-profit organi-
zation. I did that for a year and a half until we
started preparing to move to California into a
retirement community called Leisure Village.
After a few years here, I became the leader of
a creative writing workshop, which is still going
strong.”
As usual, send an email or call with any news.
— Walter M. Carow, (865) 805-6134; [email protected]
FALL 2021 47
’51 June 30, 2021 — As our 70th
anniversary year draws to
a close, let’s reflect on our
reaching a new milestone. It’s been 70 years
since we received our M.E. degree and left Castle
Point with many fond memories. Just think how
lucky we are. Recent and new graduates can’t
relate to twice-a-year graduation, the Castle,
the Senior Trip, Engineering Camp, steam engine
indicator cards, “log-log duplex,” K&E slide rules,
no co-eds, the blacksmith shop, Saturday labs or
Professor Backer’s coffee. Perhaps the “Pride of
Communipaw Flats” should still be performed for
incoming classes.
Our Stevens class consisted of many World
War II veterans with the GI Bill paying tuition.
Stevens tuition is now the highest among New
Jersey colleges and universities. But starting sal-
aries for us were in the neighborhood of $4,000.
Our combined February and June classes had
approximately 330 graduates, but statistically we
now number in double digits. Unfortunately, Bob Fairchild, Phil Plack and others who previously
submitted 1951 class logs are no longer with us.
Wanting the log to continue, I have agreed to
“carry on.” If you are reading this, please confirm
by sending an email to [email protected]. I would like to receive updated contact
information and other relevant news for future
logs.
Arlene and I have made our home in Fort
Worth, Texas, since 1979. I retired in 1991
and we relocated to a Fort Worth retirement
community in 2005. The first half of my career
was with the electric generation department of
Public Service Electric and Gas Co. The second
half was with the Boy Scouts of America, where
responsibilities included physical arrangements
for national jamborees. We are blessed with six
children (five surviving), 12 grandchildren and
two great-grandchildren scattered in New Jersey,
Texas and Arizona.
Stu Goldie wrote from St. Petersburg, Florida,
to say that after retiring from Honeywell, he and
Betty bought a VW camper and spent many
years traveling to national and state parks. The
house where they raised four children is still their
home. Stu started playing his violin again after
50 years and performed with several community
orchestras. Until a few years ago, he tutored
algebra and calculus at the local high school. Not
exactly what he did professionally, when involved
with inertial guidance systems for fighter aircraft.
John Gill is enjoying his retirement in Convent
Station, New Jersey, near Morristown. He was
with Public Service Electric from graduation until
retirement in 1988, and he specialized in design-
ing underground transmission and distribution
systems. He and Claire’s marriage of 72 years
ended with her passing several years ago, but it
has a legacy of five children, 12 grandchildren and
15 great-grandchildren. The Gills enjoyed golf at
Fairmount Country Club and their membership in
the New Jersey Seniors Golf Association.
I recently learned of Bill Smith’s passing. He
will be most remembered by his classmates as
editor-in-chief of The Stute. — Charles Wetter, 817-348-0509 (home); 817-944-8383 (cell); [email protected]
’52April 3, 2021 — Editor’s Note: The
longtime class secretary Robert
Wolf is transitioning out of this
role; below is an excerpt from his letter in April 2021.
Read more in a future issue of the ’52 log.
Being the log writer for the Class of 1952 was
an experience and a challenge – one of the most
satisfying experiences of my years. It gave me
the opportunity to learn so much about my class
members and the role that Stevens has played, as
a positive force for them and for the world. The
Stevens Indicator has been my most used source
in gauging the condition of the world. (And it is
very tenuous now!) Thanks for the most enjoy-
able challenge and experience. — The Stevens Indicator; 201-216-5161; [email protected]
’53Editor’s Note: Charlie Schnabolk
shared these thoughts on the
presidential biographer and
journalist Richard Reeves ’60, shortly after Reeves’
passing last year.
“ I read with great sadness of the passing of
Richard Reeves ’60. His passing brought back a
lot of memories of our 50-year friendship that
began in 1970 when a brief mention of Reeves
appeared in the 1960 Indicator log. It reported
that Dick was the New York City Hall bureau
chief for The New York Times. This was not only
an impressive title, but it was also a very unusual
position for any Stevens alumnus. I am well
aware that hundreds of textbooks and manuals
have been published by alumni (I wrote three
textbooks), but a career as a professional news-
paper reporter was unheard of. The fact that he
went on to become a syndicated columnist and
TV personality was an uniquely amazing accom-
plishment for a Stevens graduate.
“I was asked by the then-Indicator editor
to meet with Dick and write a story about an
alumnus who gave up a well-paying engineering
job to become a pauper as a newspaper reporter
shortly after graduation. The main reason I had
looked forward to our meeting was because just
a few years earlier, in 1965, I had to make that
same decision but chose to stay in engineering.
I was interested in meeting with someone who
took the plunge.
“We met for lunch near his Times office and
discussed his meteoric rise as a journalist and, of
course, shared similar undergraduate memories
because he was only six years younger than
me. It was a memorable interview and little did
I know that 30 years later, Dick Reeves would
write about an interview with me and publish it in
his syndicated column.”
“At that 1970 interview, I mentioned that Ste-
vens produced a Noble Prize winner (Fred Reines
’39) and CEOs of major corporations, scientists,
doctors and a great many educators, but some
of those achievements can be expected from
an engineering school graduate. Even the artist
Alexander Calder Class of 1919 used some of his
engineering talents gained at Stevens to balance
his million-dollar mobiles. (I actually met Calder
when I had him as my luncheon guest when I
was president of the Stevens Metropolitan Club
in 1970.) Calder wasn’t very impressive, while
Richard Reeves was the real thing – an unforget-
table character.” (Read more from Charlie in a
future class log.)
Robert GreengroveRobert Greengrove, 91, the former class
secretary, passed away peacefully at his home in
Nutley, New Jersey, on April 13, 2021, surround-
ed by loved ones.
As a youth he worked at the family business,
Pro Lumber & Hardware, in Belleville, New
Jersey. There he developed his love of mechanics
and tinkering which led him to Stevens.
He worked as a mechanical engineer for
several years before delving into computer
programming. He ended his career as the IT
manager at Micro Stamping Corp in Bound
Brook, New Jersey.
Robert spent his retirement creating an intri-
cate model train layout that encompassed the
entire basement of his home.
In 1953, he married Carol Birtwistle, the love
of his life, and together they spent 67 incredible
years raising a family and traveling the globe.
48 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
They purchased a Victorian house in Nutley,
which they renovated room by room over the
next 60 years. For decades this welcoming home
was a gathering place for family and friends. He
also enjoyed spending many summers in Ortley
Beach, New Jersey, with family.
“Robert was a beloved husband, father, and
grandfather,” his family said. “He exemplified
perseverance and dedication to family. His jokes
and advice are missed; he will live on forever in
the memories of his friends and family.”
Robert is survived by his wife, Carol; his four
daughters Cheryl (Lin), Robin, Wendy and Amy
(Bill) Gripp; and seven grandchildren Alexandria,
Kyle, Ian, Kelsey, Erika, Cara and Anna. He is also
survived by his brother James, sister Patricia
Brown, and many nieces and nephews. — The Stevens Indicator; [email protected]
’54 July 2021 — Well, classmates, I
hope that all of you have had
your COVID-19 vaccinations
by now and are beginning to be able to travel a
bit. We finally got to see our daughter’s family in
Atlanta and attend our grandson’s high school
graduation there. It was quite an affair and well
organized. The calling out of 500 names and
handing each one their diploma took a bit of time,
however.
We hopefully expect to do some camping this
summer or in the fall.
I have yet to hear from any of you and begin
to wonder if I am the only one left in our class?
Please let me hear from you, if only to say you’re
A L U M N I A S S O C I A T I O N
P E R A S P E R A A D A S T R ASAA Update
still here and are managing OK. God Bless. — George Hromnak, 45 Glenridge Blvd., Homosas-sa, Florida 34446; 352-382-7445; [email protected]
Editor’s Note: The family of Henry Angel shared
the sad news of his passing on July 6, 2021. Here is
an excerpt from his obituary, edited for length. The
Indicator staff offers its deep sympathy to Henry’s
family and friends.
Henry Angel“It is with deep sadness that we announce the
passing of Henry R. Angel, soulmate and beloved
husband of 67 years to Sue Angel; devoted father
to N. Angel Fredricks and her husband Paul, Julie
Beitman and her husband Russell, Jon and his
wife Evie; doting grandfather to six grandchil-
dren; and a great-grandfather.
“Born in Brooklyn, New York, Henry’s life
was filled with humor, love, curiosity and, most
of all, kindness. After Stevens, he furthered his
studies at Yale University with a master’s degree
in engineering in 1958. He began his career at
Sikorsky Aircraft, where he invented the autopi-
lot for landing helicopters on aircraft carriers. He
then went on to be a founding partner of T Bar
Corporation before beginning Angel Engineering
in the family basement.
“If you have ever had blood work done, then
you have most likely benefited from Henry’s
groundbreaking intellectual property. He invent-
ed and earned several patents for technology
that revolutionized serology. From that humble
beginning in the basement, Henry, with Sue by
his side, grew Angel Engineering to become a
leader in the field of blood chemistry and he-
matology analyzing equipment. He was the first
recipient of the George Mead Medal from United
Technologies for engineering achievements and
had 44 domestic and international patents for his
inventions.
“Henry was a husband, father, grandfather
and great-grandfather. He was an established
engineer, inventor, painter, boater, car enthusi-
ast, builder and chief pancake maker at morning
minyan at Congregation Beth El in Fairfield,
Connecticut. He was a prankster with a wickedly
dry sense of humor who made the world a better
place. May his memory be a blessing.”
’55 July 13, 2021 — Greetings and
good wishes for health and
happiness as this “Old Guard
class” moves further into the senior ranks. I re-
gret having received only one letter from a ’55er
in this pandemic year. The letter was sent from
where Brigham Young had told his followers:
“This is the Place.” And quite a place is the Salt
Lake Valley in Utah, convincingly proven to me in
joyous days spent at beautiful nearby forests on
spectacular tall mountains, many of them capped
by world-class ski-runs and facing a massive
salt-laden lake.
My “one” letter was from good friend Tom Wright. Sometime in the last dozen or so years, I
had a pleasant visit with Tom when he was living
in St. George, Utah. I was returning by car with
my son, Paul, to California from a scenic tour that
featured hiking at the wonderful Zion National
Park in Utah. It was great to share Tom’s enthu-
siasm for Zion. He loved hiking in the park and
savoring its grand vistas. I was reminded about
his skill with words as he had demonstrated in
the days that we worked together on The Stute.
Tom has a talent to bring out smiles from his
friends with ease. He and classmate Jim Spady
contributed a column to The Stute (dubbed by
me, as I remember, “Spouting Foam Out”), which
cleverly provided comic relief to the rigorous
Stevens weekly activities.
Like Tom, we’ve all traveled a long route in the
nearly seven decades since we left Stevens. Most
of us who are now in our upper 80s will under-
stand and sympathize with his narrative, which is
reproduced below.
“Hi, Rich: Class secretary must be among the
most lonely of all positions. I understand why you
2020 Stevens Alumni Award RecipientsAll Presidents of the SAA
2021 Stevens Alumni Award RecipientFrank Roberto ’76 2020 Harold R. Fee Award RecipientsJulio Diaz ’95Zef Ferreira ’00James Western ’05Roman Malantchouk ’10Michael Cahill ’15
2021 Harold R. Fee Award RecipientsAnthony Kowalski ’96Mark Biamonte ’01Brad Miller ’06Felipe McAlister ’11Jayson Yano ’16
2020 Outstanding Teacher of the YearLeslie Brunell ‘86 M.Eng. ‘90 Ph.D. ‘96
2021 Outstanding Teacher of the YearBrian Borowski M.S. ‘04 Ph.D. ’11
In the next edition of The Stevens Indicator, we will share a recap of the 2021 Red and Gray Days, which started with the celebration of the 100th Alumni Weekend. During the weekend, the Stevens Alumni Association (SAA) Awards Ceremony was held virtually. Recipients of the Stevens Alumni Award, the Harold R. Fee Class of 1920 Alumni Achievement Awards and the Outstanding Teach-er Awards for 2020 and 2021 were honored. To listen to their stories and acceptances, please visit the library of past webinars at stevens.edu/alumni-webinars
FALL 2021 49
are reduced to pleading for something to include
in the Class News. I’ve reached the age where
multiple body parts no longer function reliably.
On the last Sunday of May, I experienced severe
pain in my chest and upper arms. Having had a
heart attack in 2003, I recognized the symptoms
as a heart attack and summoned the paramedics,
who gave me an ambulance ride to the hospital.
After a stress test followed by an echocardio-
gram, they performed another angioplasty and
inserted one stent in a severely narrowed heart
artery. This procedure was made more difficult
by my kidneys, which have been on the verge
of failing for several years now. The dye used in
angioplasty is known to have a tendency to do
a number on the kidneys. As a result, I am now
pain-free and still with kidneys that remain barely
functional. I have known several men who turned
to dialysis in their last years, and I am determined
not to follow that path. My doctors understand
my decision.
“For over six years now I have been living in an
independent-living facility in the Salt Lake City area.
Arthritis in my ankles keeps me from doing what
I love to do, hiking in the many national and state
parks in and near Utah. Whoever said that ‘youth is
wasted on the young’ knew whereof he spoke!
“I hope all is well with you and our classmates.
I also hope you get some response from your plea
for information. Take care and enjoy life.”
To Tom, I and many who remember you wish
happiness and comfort in the days to come.
Tom’s verdict about the loneliness that might
characterize the class secretary job rings on tar-
get often, but gladly not always. I have found an
unexpected benefit of holding the secretary job
in the manner it can evoke good thoughts about
our days at Stevens. How many of us ’55ers
remember hearing our “Welcome to Stevens”
by the Stute’s then-new president, Jess Harrison
Davis? Can we picture that sunny September day
70 years ago? Our future Alma Mater was then
younger (80 years) than we are now. Clearly
visible in 1951 were reminders of Castle Point
before Stevens, like the castle on the hill, the
greenstone arch at Hudson and 8th Streets and
the arch and gatehouse at the south end of the
Wittpenn Walk.
These memories got a revival jolt when, this
June, the “Stevens at 150” Indicator arrived. That
issue’s front cover featured a spread of photos
that had been taken at assorted times over the
past century and a half. Down in the lower left-
hand corner on The Indicator cover, I recognized
a much younger me in a picture taken in the
now-demolished Baylis Building. I guess that
the year is 1954, and the day is Wednesday, our
weekly “activities” day. Wednesdays had been
freed of coursework so that Stevens men could
have time to broaden perspectives in various
directions such as sports, arts, music, theater
and social events.
In 1954, I was editor-in-chief of The Stute and
am shown on that Indicator cover talking with my
headlines editor, Harry Morgan, as well as with
Eric Beckstein, my successor as editor-in-chief.
Hopefully, The Indicator editor will include a copy
of this picture with this Class Log to help recall
Morgan and Beckstein, who have both joined the
long Red & Gray Line. (Editor’s Note: Please see
this wonderful photo near the ’55 log.)
Harry was one of my closest friends at
Stevens, a fellow Theta Xi and a comrade on
numerous outings and social events.
The Korean War was raging in the early 1950s
and an assured service deferment was regular-
ly granted to students in engineering and the
sciences. Like myself and most ’55 classmates,
Harry had been an ROTC member in those
threatening days of the Korean War. Through
ROTC, Harry joined in active military service af-
ter graduation, signing up for the Air Force flight
service. After training, he was assigned to duty
on the Distant Early Warning Line, a U.S. defense
initiative in which regular surveillance flights
were flown to monitor possible Soviet activity in
the Arctic Ocean areas north of Alaska and Can-
ada. During his training years, Harry’s enthusi-
asm with his flight duty came through in frequent
messages on scenic post cards. He posted these
to me in Pasadena, where I was doing graduate
work for my Ph.D. at Caltech. Harry planned on
using his military training background to qualify
for an after-service job in aviation.
Sadly, there was not to be an after-service job;
Harry lost his life when his plane crashed on a
service flight. He became the first to die among
our ’55 classmates, and he is still mourned
by many among us. — Richard S. Muller, 1519 Oxford St., Apt. H, Berkeley, California 94709- 1542; [email protected]
’57 July 2021 — The Class of 1957
will, amazingly, celebrate its
65th reunion next spring at
Alumni Weekend 2022, June 3-4. The hope is
that this remarkable class will gather once again
on the Stevens campus. Please stay tuned for
updates in the coming months.
On page 3 of this issue of The Indicator – the
Letters to the Editor page—you can be con-
nected to an online tribute to our former class
president and longtime leader Paul Steffen, who
passed away last year. Paul was truly a Stevens
stalwart and a guiding light for his class when it
came to supporting Stevens students, promoting
excellence at our alma mater and for always
supporting each other. Paul is simply irreplace-
able and sorely missed. To read his online tribute,
visit stevens.edu/paul-steffen
Stute Editor in Chief Richard Muller ’55, left, confers with headlines editor Harry Morgan '55, standing at right, and Eric Beckstein '55, seated, circa 1954, in the paper’s Baylis Building offices. Read more from Richard in the ’55 log.
Don’t see your class log listed? Send an update to [email protected] or call 201-216-5161.
50 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
’58 Guest log by Bob Fiocco
July 2021 — Hey ’58ers! I am
continuing to serve as guest log
secretary. Mike Bonner and I would like to hear
from more classmates, but we’re very happy to
have received the notes summarized below.
In early June, Nels Gravenstede sent a
two-page letter, as well as informative year-end
Christmas letters he’s written. He included a
recent newspaper clipping with a good picture
of the almost-completed Student Housing and
University Center complex (hats off again to Car-
ol and Rich Harries!). Nels and his wife, Audrey,
survived the snowy (31 inches) winter in Newton,
New Jersey, and he is now very much looking
forward to doing his more usual farm/house/
machinery chores during the summer.
He writes of the winter, “There was no end of
problems…we managed to dig our way out after
being stuck at the house for three days.” House
electric generator problems, COVID avoidance/
vaccination measures, FAA pilot license renewal
problems after a pacemaker issue, and buying a
1946 Taylorcraft airplane have all kept him very
busy. Also, to rebuild his new/old airplane, he
says, “My shop is now back up and running with
two lathes, a big Bridgeport and a DoAll.” (Nels
learned well from our freshman days in machine
shop with Gus Toernshoff and company!)
I recall that my wife Grace and I really enjoyed
being on an SAA river cruise back in 2001
with Nels and Audrey, along with several other
Stevens alums. Stories about his Stevens Flying
Club adventures and Picatinny Arsenal work
experiences were especially interesting. I also
remember the pig roast in 2009 that he and
Audrey hosted at their home in Newton for a very
enjoyable and tasteful Class of ’58 gathering.
(See the photo courtesy of class prez Nick Mestanas.) Delighted ’58ers in the photo: Ed
versity. Steve worked at Grumman for 42 years on
a number of different projects, including the Lunar
Module (LEM) and the Tomcat F-14 Fighter. Steve
dedicated a large portion of his life to public service
and used his expertise in various volunteer capac-
ities. During his retirement on Cape Cod, he spent
12 years on the Cape & Vineyard Energy Consor-
tium, was a docent at the Cape Cod Museum of Art
and a member of the Yarmouth Energy Committee,
participated in archeological digs at Taylor-Bray
Farm and restored headstones at Ancient Ceme-
tery for the Yarmouth Historical Society. A lover
of all things transportation, he was an avid classic
car aficionado, helped build experimental aircraft
and was a member of the Cape and Islands Model
Railroad Association. He will be remembered as a
true gentleman.
From Patti Romlein, we learned that Dave Romlein passed away on April 19, 2021, in Quin-
cy, Florida. After graduating from Stevens, Dave
entered the Air Force and retired as a lieutenant
colonel 23 years later. He then worked for Grum-
man and Pratt & Whitney for 10 years before
fully retiring. He is survived by Patti, two daugh-
ters and three grandsons. Dave was a member
of Sigma Nu fraternity. — George C. Pezold, 120 Main St., Huntington, NY 11743; (631) 271-8817; [email protected]
’60Editor's Note: At press time, the
Old Guard Day had been
postponed. Please stay tuned for
future updates.
Guest log by John Dalton
August 2021 — Unless Covid-19’s Delta
variant has derailed it, we’ll be gathering for our
twice-postponed 60th Class Reunion on Old
Guard Day, Saturday, October 23. I’m looking
forward to celebrating it jointly with our friends
(and some former classmates) from the Class of
1961. As you know, they narrowly edged us out
for third place in the annual Class Challenge, gar-
nering $500.00 for their class scholarship fund.
As some are aware, I’ve been working with
Ed Eichhorn ’69 on healthcare issues for the
past few years. When Covid-19 infections began
raging in March 2020, Ed and I decided to form
the Healing American Healthcare Coalition. Its
goal is to provide physicians, nurses and health-
care professionals with accurate and current
Rapoza and Nels Gravenstede kneeling in front of
one of Nels’ antique cars, a 1931 slant-windshield
four-door sedan with fender well spares and rear
trunk. Others there included Frank Gianforte,
Vern Wu, Roger Paquin, Joe Skroski, Bob Mazza,
Mike Bonner, Rich Smolen, Mike Busche, Milan Sowis, Bob Walker, Nick Mestanas, and Bob Fiocco.)
Nels extends his “thanks to all of you class-
mates for helping me through my four years at
Stevens, and making all of my adventures possi-
ble.” To which I might add: “Nels, you are a great
classmate to have. Thanks for all you do and have
done! Stay well!”
Just in time for this log, I also received a nice
two-page email from classmate Barry (Biff)
Ficken. He and his wife, Gael, are more than main-
taining their many social, physical, meditative
and volunteer activities in spite of the pandemic.
Both have fully embraced Zoom, including hosting
family meetings, coordinating food-for-the-needy
volunteers and involvement in garden club activi-
ties, art classes and meditation sessions.
Biff has maintained his vigorous exercise
program during COVID by outfitting a room in
the house with a yoga mat, elastic exercise bands,
an indoor bike setup, dumbbells and an Apple
watch for monitoring his activity goals. Not to be
outdone, Gael’s activities include plenty of golf
(three times a week “and she walks the course
— no cart”). Biff also mentioned starting to think
about our 65th class reunion in 2023. Keep going,
Fickens! You guys are an inspiration for all of us to
maintain an active lifestyle.
Finally, I would very much appreciate receiving
any input from you good gentlemen (and/or wives)
on your status, fun activities, plans and thoughts.
Long or short, they will certainly rekindle fading
memories of our “Stevens Daze,” as well as of our
friendships of many, many years ago. An email
any time would be great. I look forward to hearing
from you. Best wishes for a great rest of 2021! — Michael F. Bonner, 329 Sylvania Ave., Avon by the Sea, NJ 07717-1242; [email protected]; Bob Fiocco, 5120 Fellowship Road, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920; [email protected]
’59 July 20, 2021 — Since the last
class logs article, the only news
I have received is sad news —
two more of our classmates have passed away.
Steve Gavin died on April 2, 2021, in Yarmouth
Port, Massachusetts. After earning his M.E. at
Stevens, he went on for an MBA from Adelphi Uni-
A moment from a Class of ’58 pig roast at the home of Nels Gravenstede in 2009. See the ’58 log for more on who attended.
Don’t see your class log listed? Send an update to [email protected] or call 201-216-5161.
FALL 2021 51
information on healthcare issues in a concise
and easy-to-read way. What began as an
exercise to beat boredom during the lockdown
has become a passion. We just published the
38th issue of our twice monthly email newslet-
ter, the Three Minute ReadTM (TMR). It provides
readers with summaries and critiques of five or
six articles from a wide range of sources. If the
reader wants to read the full article, he or she
simply clicks on the title to link to it.
Our e-book, Healing American Healthcare –
Lessons Learned from the Pandemic, is now avail-
able at Amazon. Information about the Healing
American Healthcare Coalition, the Three
Minute ReadTM and our blogs and podcasts is
available at www.healingamericanhealthcare.
org. If any classmates are interested in a succinct
twice-monthly update on emerging healthcare
issues, just let me know and we’ll add you to our
complimentary mailing list. Per aspera ad astra, John — Donald Merino, [email protected]; John Dalton; [email protected]
’61 July 2021 — “Here I go again, I
hear those trumpets blow
again.” An appropriate lyric
from one of the signature songs of the most
famous person from Hoboken, Frank Sinatra.
I missed submitting something for the last
Indicator, and Fred Dietrich filled in, as I was
very despondent over the loss of so many of our
classmates in the last two years.
In his last missive, Art Ketterer noted the loss-
es. I also missed the Class of ’61 Zoom session for
the virtual 2021 Alumni Weekend, as I was totally
focused on completing a DIY house project. Karl
Schinke informed me afterward that only eight
classmates attended the Zoom session. Not a
good response. We can take some solace as a
class, however, by our excellent response in sup-
porting Stevens via contributions. I was involved
in helping a couple of classmates get Zoom-con-
nected by putting them in touch with Edward Yao,
director of alumni engagement. As a result, I’m
happy to note that I got a classmate and fraternity
brother to reappear after 60 years of silence: Dr.
Steven Gottlieb. Some prodding on my part led to
Dr. Steve’s great bio as follows:
“After leaving Stevens, I married and began
my professional career with the National
Security Agency, where I spent six months as a
civilian and then completed my Air Force ROTC
obligation by working there for an additional
three years. I left NSA in 1964 and worked for
Operations Research Inc. (ORI) in Silver Spring,
Maryland. My first wife and I were divorced at
that time. In 1968, I left ORI for Control Data
Corp. in Bethesda, Maryland. Shortly after, I was
given an opportunity to represent the company
in a seven-company consortium, termed Urban
Systems Associates (USA). With second wife in
tow, I relocated to California. The consortium’s
mission was to determine if technology could
be applied to assist city governments in solving
urban problems. After a half-year, the seven of
us concluded that we could help cities but could
not get past the proprietary interests of our
parent companies. Closure was recommended
and enacted. My time with USA did provide the
experience needed to successfully apply to Booz
Allen in the Washington, D.C., area.
“Shortly after joining Booz Allen, we had our
first child, Michelle. Soon afterward, Booz Allen
gave me an opportunity to run a major feder-
ally funded project: build a ‘Totally Integrated
Municipal Information System.’ We all moved
to Wichita Falls, Texas, staying there for two
years, and added a second child, Michael. Upon
returning to D.C., my wife and I split up but re-
mained friends until her death. Coping with work,
marriages and kids, I managed to get a Ph.D. in
business and management, with significant help
from Booz Allen.
“I married Carolyn in 1977, a union that has
held to this day, 44 years. My now-expanded
family of four children, Lisa, Deborah, Michael
and Michelle, have been and were together when
I finished my 28-year career with Booz Allen,
retiring in 1997 as a senior partner. We are still
together, though separated by geography.
“Shortly before retirement, Carolyn and I pur-
chased land in Austin, Texas, and over time built
two houses there. Michelle, who has no children
and is divorced, is a computer systems analyst.
Deborah is a K-6 schoolteacher with three kids,
and all are in or about to attend college. Both
Michelle and Deborah reside in the Austin area.
“Lisa, a librarian, has two children, one a
college junior and one entering college. They live
outside of Richmond, Virginia. Michael has his
own law firm, and with two children lives north
of Bethesda. Besides Michelle, my other children
live with their respective spouses.
“Since my retirement more than 23 years
ago, I have spent considerable time with three
significant hobbies: wood-turning, woodwork-
ing and photography. An even more significant
commitment, however, is working with a number
of nonprofits. Two in particular have been my
church and the Arrowmont School of Arts and
Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Arrowmont,
where I currently serve as president of the Board
of Governors, started as a settlement school
more than 100 years ago and has been a creative
center for arts and art education for more than
75 years. The school offers courses in painting,
woodworking, wood-turning, drawing, glass,
photography, basket-making, ceramics, fiber
arts, book and paper arts, and metal working.
Aside from the COVID years, we’ve served an
international student base in excess of 2,500
students on our campus and on the road through
our Art Reach programs.”
Art Ketterer recently forwarded me the
obituary of Richard Spanier from 2020 in the
Newark Star Ledger: “Dr. Richard Fredric Spanier,
80, passed away on April 16, 2020, surrounded
by family at his home in Cambridge, Vt.
“Dr. Spanier was born in Staten Island, N.Y.,
moved with his family to Germany, and then
returned to the United States after high school to
attend Stevens Institute of Technology.
“He taught at Stevens as a graduate student
and while completing his Ph.D. in chemical phys-
ics there, he met his wife, Joy Lee Rudolph. Dr.
Spanier joined the Rudolph family business in the
mid-1960s and led it for his entire career. That
business became Rudolph Technologies. After
merging with Nanometrics, [the company] was
known as Onto Innovation and is traded on the
NYSE. Dr. Spanier holds numerous patents and
is acknowledged and recognized as a pioneer
within the semiconductor industry.
“He was generous, kind, prudent, foreseeing,
amazingly fair and driven to always excel and
succeed. He was always learning or working
on something: installing fingerprint scanners
in his wife’s horse barn, learning to play golf
right-handed when his left shoulder failed or
learning to walk on three different knees.
“He loved God, his family and had many
friends. He was a loved husband, father, grand-
father, brother, uncle, but also a mentor, leader
and visionary. He built a beautiful family, a
successful business, and left behind a legacy of
kindness, generosity and wisdom that will never
be forgotten.
“Dr. Spanier is survived by his wife, Joy; chil-
dren, Richard, Allyson and James; grandchildren,
Jessica, Michaela, Richard Henry, Anna Joy,
Addison and Bodhi; great-grandchild, Richard;
and his brother, Fredric Spanier.
52 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
And this from Dick Meincke, who responded
to Paul adding: “We are both doing well and stay-
ing active. Betty does a lot of volunteer work and
I’m back at the gym going seven days a week.
Following retirement in 1999, we traveled a lot,
usually four major trips each year. I tell people
that I am looking for a job and have traveled
to Europe, Asia and Africa, but can’t find one
anywhere! I keep busy doing fine woodworking,
fishing and kayaking. Hope you are doing well
and also maintaining a busy lifestyle.” — Philip B. Kimball, [email protected]
’63 July 2021 — I think that the best
news comes from Dick Magee
and Tom Moschello, Class
of 1963 Fund co-chairmen, who are happy to
announce that the Class of 1963 again won the
Class Challenge for percent participation rate
for giving. This is the sixth time we’ve won in
the seven years that the challenge has been
conducted, and it adds $2,500 to our class
scholarship fund. Things were a little slow, but
with a big push starting on June 15, Bruce Boylan,
Joe Grauman and Charlie Perruzzi joined us in
contacting over 50 classmates by phone, email
and snail mail. Like a world champion racehorse,
’63 charged down the final stretch and won the
race again!
Charlie says, “A big thanks to Dick and Tom
for their never-ending dedication. Wish us well in
our quest to secure special space for all alumni
in one of the new buildings. He also mentioned
that “I now have seven grandkids — four future
leaders of America and three boys!”
Carl Benson wrote that he was celebrating
the 25th anniversary of his retirement from
Becton, Dickinson and Co. and is still married to
Mary Lee, his Sigma Nu sweetheart of 56 years.
They moved from Wyckoff to Toms River, New
Jersey. He went on to say, “As an avid saltwa-
ter fisherman, I was fortunate to qualify for a
commercial summer flounder (fluke) permit.
During the last 25 years I have fished with local
friends and those from BD. I am an advisor to
Mid Atlantic Fishery’s Management Council for
summer flounder, black sea bass and scup, and
New Jersey Marine Fishery’s Council on summer
flounder and black sea bass.
“In 2013, I proposed a study to evaluate
different hook sizes to determine if we could
reduce the discard mortality rate of undersized
fluke. (Discard mortality is the fish that do not
survive being caught and released.) I worked
“Dr. Spanier was buried, after a small ceremo-
ny, in Cambridge Vt., surrounded by immediate
family just minutes from where he lived.” At press time, the 2021 Old Guard Luncheon
had been postponed due to COVID concerns.
When this event returns to campus in the near
future, it will be a great opportunity to renew
acquaintances with guys we knew on campus
in and around our class year. — Jay Wartell, [email protected]
’62 July 2021 — With our 60th
anniversary reunion rapidly
approaching, your reunion
committee has been hard at work discussing
plans for our class. Here are highlights from a
report from our reunion committee:
Dennis Blahut recently heard from Paul Rank who provided an update of his activities since
graduation as follows: “It’s been a long
time since I’ve been back to Stevens, but I still
remember fondly the times we spent together.
While we were not in the same fraternity, we had
a great relationship. I think the last Alumni Day I
attended was in 1986 when the Statue of Liberty
was reopened, and the last time I was on campus
was in November 2001, when I parked at Stevens
and went into Manhattan to see the devastation
from 9/11. The day I was there it was appropriate-
ly cloudy as I looked out from Castle Point, a stark
contrast to the brilliantly clear July 4th weekend
of 1986. If all goes well, I hope to make our 60th
next year.
“To give a brief history, I married Joan and we
had three children. I started working for Bell
Labs in 1967 and moved to Columbus (Ohio)
in 1974. Joan and I separated in 1980, and she
passed away in 1985 from brain cancer. In 1982 I
married Sue, who had three children, so we had
a blended family of six. In 1992, I spent a year in
Dayton as the Bell Labs liaison at NCR and then
moved on to Cincinnati in 1993, where I retired in
1999 when AT&T made an offer I couldn’t refuse.
Since then, I have been volunteering at my church
primarily in the area of social justice outreach.
In 2010, Sue died from pancreatic cancer. In
2011 Mary Ann and I were married. She had two
children, so I now have a blended family of eight
children, 10 grandkids, and one great-grandson. It
is hard to keep track as they are spread out from
Seattle to London, England. Mary Ann and I
moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, six years ago and
really enjoy the southwest. Again, thanks Dennis
for reaching out and I hope to see you in 2022.”
with Dr. Richard Bronson ’63 at Fairleigh Dickin-
son University, a Sigma Nu brother, to partner in
this program. In 2014, Dr. James Salierno, also
from FDU, and I planned and implemented the
program, collecting almost 8,000 data points
to conclude that hook size could reduce discard
mortality. The results were peer-reviewed and
published. Then the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection used the program
results and other input to challenge the U.S.
Department of Commerce, as NJ DEP decided to
go out of compliance with the National Marine
Fisheries requirements. NJ won.”
Joe Grauman’s note said, “I hope all of our
classmates are well and safe during these diffi-
cult times. The pandemic has been dominating
our lives for the past 15 months. I stopped going
to the gym for my three weekly one-hour work-
outs in mid-March 2020, and had to make do
with an old AirGometer bike in the basement for
a little over a year, until I was fully vaccinated and
returned there at the beginning of April 2021. I’ve
managed to lose 12 pounds during that period of
time and had to go get a new set of slacks.
“It has been a difficult period of time for hav-
ing family get-togethers. Elaine and I were finally
able to visit our younger daughter and family a
couple Sundays ago. It’s a 1-hour drive but was
well worth it. Other than that, life just goes on
with some work in and around the house, as well
as various activities on the internet. We don’t
have any major travel plans for the near future,
except for a long weekend visit with nearby out-
of-state relatives.”
John Zajac mentioned, “Really nothing ex-
citing to report. Things here rapidly returning to
normal. Busy now with tourists. Took our first air
flight last month to California to visit some family
and young grandkids who seem to have doubled
in size over last year. Ellen and I are doing well
here on Maryland’s Eastern shore.”
Chris Coccio said, “I just completed 20
years as CEO and chairman at Sono-Tek Corp,
a post-retirement gig that I thought would
only be for a year. It has been very engaging to
take a small struggling public company from
near bankruptcy to a very successful business,
applying for Nasdaq listing. When I look back, it
is because of the people, and the opportunity to
build something together over time that has been
the real motivation.
“Laurie and I plan to resume some of our trav-
el, which has turned into a major hobby for us.
We are on the same page now when it comes to
FALL 2021 53
being away from Upstate New York for the worst
of the winter. I am looking forward to reconnect-
ing in person at Stevens after more than a year
of virtual Advisory Board meetings. It is truly
remarkable how much has changed for the better
at our school, in spite of lockdowns, and it will be
great to see it for ‘real.’ Best wishes to you and
our classmates for health and enjoyment of this
life stage.”
Carol and I are both doing well. We had a
good winter of skiing and snowshoeing but never
traveled more than about 60 miles from home.
Now, Carol’s rapidly recuperating from a knee
replacement, and we’re looking forward to more
hiking, biking and helping the country’s economy
by traveling. — Neville W. Sachs, [email protected]
’64 July 2021 — On behalf of your
class officers, I want to thank
those of you who participated
in the latest Stevens Fund and scholarship drive
that just ended in June. Over 33% of our class
contributed and donated over $100,000 to the
various aspects of the fund. Congratulations to
all who contributed. Your officers did a wonder-
ful job in contacting class members to assist in
soliciting contributions and to learn about what
you have been doing during the pandemic.
We heard from the following members:
Joe Weber is still working as a consultant for
his old company but worked from home when
COVID arose. He always had IT department
backup in the office, but now from home, it’s real-
ly different. Some classmates could have retired
at 62, 18 or 19 years ago! Some of us are still
working and enjoying it.
Carlo Alfare writes: “I am still teaching
chemistry at Mercer County Community College.
I do it because I still enjoy teaching and the
interaction with students. My daughter is in
Wisconsin with her husband, Jon. I don’t know
how it happened, but she also teaches chemistry,
at St. Norbert College. She has three children:
Benjamin (1), Evelyn (3) and Nathan (5).”
Peter Astor: “While fundraising for our class,
I had the joy of talking with several of our class-
mates, including Roger Nagel and Art Block, who
hope to get their families together for a cruise in
February 2022. John Geer told me things were a
lot quieter in Florida during the pandemic winter.
Harriet and I are looking forward to returning
next year. The only easy thing last year was the
light traffic.”
citations was for 42 years of service, including
the presidency and board service of ACOEM.”
John Thielke: “It has been hot in the Pacific
Northwest. In the 45-plus years we have lived in
our suburban Seattle neighborhood, tempera-
tures have never gone above 100°F, but one day
in late June it reached 108. We spent quite a bit
of time in our basement where it was only in the
80s. Since then, temperatures have moderated,
and we are back to our usual summer weather.
However, the experience was a strong signal that
our climate has changed. The entire West Coast
is in a major drought, especially California where,
already stressed, water supplies will worsen
unless we get above-normal rain and snow in the
fall and winter.”
Dave Munson: “We survived the pandemic
without problems, had our shots, and are ready
to travel again. So many people have moved
here from the Northeast that our highways are
jammed day and night, so we usually take back
roads to get where we’re going. Our first post-
COVID adventure was to the North Carolina
mountains. Later this year, we are planning to
visit Maine. There is a lot left on the bucket list
and time seems to be growing shorter. I must ad-
mit that an engineering degree from Tech made
I have been busy over the last 15 months and
especially since the first of the year. I have been
deeply involved in working with the various
local health related entities, first in setting up
COVID-19 testing sites and then vaccination
sites in the city.
Early to get my team vaccinated, we worked
closely with our local health district, a local com-
munity health center and the hospital to set up
testing sites and then vaccination clinics for our
first responders, essential city employees and
board of education staff and teachers, besides
the eligible seniors as designated by the CDC
age-related guidelines. We were able to use the
facilities of ESPN to direct drive-thru clinics to
get our eligible population vaccinated. Since last
summer the city has been deeply involved with
food disparity, co-sponsoring with the United
Way regular food distribution programs for all
area residents.
In closing, I also want to thank those of our
class who attended the Alumni Day festivities.
This was our 57th Alumni Day celebration and
although done by Zoom, we all hope to be on
campus next year.
Be safe and stay well. — Harley G. Graime, [email protected]
’65 July 2021 — George Greene is
retiring as class secretary, so
at his request, it’s now my task.
I enjoyed editing our “Book of Bios” and see this
as a logical extension. With my apologies: fitting
within The Indicator’s 800-1,000-word limit
required some brutal condensation.
Stuart (Lazarus) Spaven: While searching
for Stuart during my bio quest, I couldn’t find a
working phone number or email, and my certified
letter came back with the cryptic message, “Re-
ceived by Agent: 8th 3rd Mail OPS,” which elicit-
ed no response. Months later, I assumed he had
passed on. When Stuart received the last issue of
The Indicator and discovered he was among the
assumed deceased, he emailed George to say he
was alive and well and living in Cincinnati. I hope
to publish his bio soon. Welcome back, Stuart!
Karl Auerbach: “I survived COVID and stayed
negative while continuing to work in a medical
practice. My engineering background helped me
design changes to our exam rooms, protective
barriers and ventilation. I was recently honored
with the American College of Occupational
and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) 2021
Outstanding Achievement Award. One of the
Dick Magee '63 M.S. '64 Sc.D. '68 displays one of several fish he caught on a fishing trip off the Jersey Shore in May.
54 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
it possible to secure some outstanding technical
management positions. Now, it’s just a matter of
staying healthy so we can live out our dreams.”
Jim McCoy: “Rita and I had COVID last
Thanksgiving, and now we’ve also been vacci-
nated. We lost nine people when the virus went
through our facility. It was sad to walk down the
hall and see doors with no names on them. But
we are making progress.”
Jim Griffin: “I’m okay, at least for someone of
our age, with aches and pains, an occasional loss
of balance, and loss of memory most of the time.
After almost two years with no English class-
es, a nearby firm asked if I still taught. ‘Yes, of
course,’ I answered and now have a twice-weekly
1.5-hour class of six bright students. They work
for S.E.Val. Srl, a recycling company near me.
Their operation is extremely interesting, and my
engineering and business background makes
the instruction more relevant. I am amazed at
the amount of refuse and merchandise that is
dumped, broken up and recycled. Absolutely the
opposite of Egypt, where almost everything that
broke was repaired!
“Having had two jabs of the BioNTech/Pfizer
vaccine and with the official EU Digital COVID
Certificate in my wallet and somewhere in my
smartphone, I can move around without a mask,
but I feel uncomfortable because it often draws
disapproving stares. I am thinking about visiting
my kids in the USA, who I haven’t seen for more
than three years, in October.”
Alberto Lorenzoni: “We not only survived,
but we got the two shots of Moderna. Now I
am waiting for the mRNA to kick in, to see if my
hair grows again. Unfortunately, we’re unable
to travel to the U.S. to visit my daughter; no EU
residents are allowed into the U.S. Movement
is now free inside the EU, so we’ll travel north of
Italy for a few weeks.
Frank Semcer: “The latest report shows ’65
in second place for the Stevens Class Challenge
at 32%. By the time you receive The Indicator, we
will all know the results. BUT a HUGE thanks to
all who participated.
“Mary Jane and I sold our Far Hills, New Jer-
sey, 1898 stone house and its 275-year-old barn.
We have consolidated to our Bonita Springs,
Florida, home, which we bought in 1993.
“Our oldest granddaughter just graduated
from Yale, received a Phi Beta Kappa key and is
heading to Cambridge for a master’s in philos-
ophy. then plans to return to the USA for her
doctorate in literature. We have a step-grand-
daughter at Stevens who is starting her senior
year in chemical engineering. She’ll be the third
grandchild to graduate, and there are 13 more
behind her.”
Gus Koven: “Our granddaughter, Lucy Koven,
is following in her father’s footsteps. Today, she
won a silver medal for the pairs under-23 World
Rowing Competition in the Czech Republic. Her
father was a two-time world rowing champ and
two-time Olympian. Lucy returns to Princeton
this fall after working for a year during COVID.
Since there was no rowing at Princeton last year,
she used the time to learn some business skills.”
George Greene: “Our grandson, Robert
George Greene, is at Oxford, studying for a mas-
ter’s in mechanical engineering, and our grand-
daughter, Charlotte Andrews, is at Northeastern
studying environmental engineering with a minor
in Spanish. — Steve Cochran, (214) 310-2773; [email protected]
’66 July 2021 — It’s been a long,
long time since we have seen
and spoken to each other,
which is unfortunate. Our class officers — George Henry, Al Zorner and myself — plus Phil Brower and Bob Dent have been hard at work to
arrange a get-together this fall. I had been waiting
on Stevens with some concrete news, which ar-
rived this morning by way of Pete Astor ’64, who
advised that there would be, as of press time for
this issue of The Indicator, an Old Guard Luncheon
on October 23, 2021. (Editor's Note: The Old Guard
Luncheon has been postponed. Please stay tuned for
future updates.)
Other than those discussions, I have not heard
from many of you, except for the following.
On the way home from a Mother’s Day cele-
bration in Ohio, I received a phone call from Lou-
ise McCarthy (Walter Korzun’s fiancée/partner),
who informed me that Walt had passed away on
July 30, 2020. His biography follows:
Walter was born in Allentown, New Jersey,
on June 28, 1944. He grew up on a small farm in
Jackson Township. He attended St Mary’s School,
then attended and graduated from Lakewood
High School with honors, and he also lettered in
track and field.
After graduating from Stevens in 1966 with
a major in mechanical engineering and a minor
in management sciences, Walter first worked at
GE. He subsequently worked at Foster Wheeler
and at Professional Management Incorporated.
The majority of his career, however, was spent at
the New Jersey Department of Transportation
and focused on bridge design. While at NJDOT,
Walter got his PE license and a master of man-
agement science degree from Stevens in 1975.
After retiring in 1998, he consulted for the Ocean
County Engineering Department.
Throughout his working life, Walter continued
to study in the area of finance and investing. He
also spent many hours perfecting his golf game
and later learning to sail. Retirement gave him the
opportunity to be a snowbird, enjoying the winter
months in Florida.
Walter passed away after a two-year illness.
He leaves behind many friends, golfing buddies
and fellow sailors, as well as his sister, Ann, and
his longtime partner, Louise.
Louise was kind enough to send me a couple
of recent photographs of Walt that were taken on
their trips before his illness.
I’d like each of you to take a moment to
specifically remember Walter. If you haven’t
done so already, please also give some thought
to creating your biography with recent photos
and send them to Bob Dent or me. Bob has been
assembling a booklet of Stevens Class of 1966
biographies, which should be distributed at a Old
Guard Day or Luncheon event sometime in the
future at Castle Point.
From my perspective, Carolyn and I continue
to enjoy ourselves and have not been particularly
constrained by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since
my last post in The Indicator, I have continued to
sail my 1981 8.0-meter S-2 on Lake Norman (in
North Carolina). While “Scandia” has been a very
good boat, she is showing her age and seems to
continually need more repairs and maintenance,
but so are most of us in the Class of ’66!
Since retirement I have remained active with
the Community Singers of Lake Norman but
resigned as president to take on the more im-
portant role of treasurer. In spite of the pandem-
ic, we emerged this spring with a positive balance
sheet, although our membership shrunk to fewer
than 30 singers. We even performed in a small
concert this spring, while wearing masks, and
offered private concerts at the homes of donors.
Now that most pandemic restrictions have
been lifted or relaxed, we are making up for lost
time by traveling to our son and daughter-in-law’s
home in Orrville, Ohio, then spending time with
friends in Williamsburg, Virginia. We later spent a
long weekend with my sister, Elaine, and her hus-
band, Ray Bleiweiss, in Beach Haven, New Jersey
(Ray is a high school friend of Dick Magee ’63).
FALL 2021 55
As I write this Indicator column, we are in Katy,
Texas, with my son, David, and his family. We
were due to fly here on March 25, 2020, when
the world was turned topsy-turvy by the pan-
demic. The enclosed photo was just taken on July
14, 2021, with (left to right) David ’93, his wife
Nadine, son Erik (almost 5), son Jakob (almost 3),
me, daughter Eda (7), and daughter Sydney (17).
This visit will culminate in a long weekend at
the Margaritaville Resort in Conroe, Texas. Then
it’s back home to North Carolina before a long
trip to national parks in Utah, Arizona for my wife
Carolyn’s sister’s birthday, and a couple of days
in Las Vegas. — Gerard W. Osborne, [email protected]
’67 July 2021 — I was so happy to
receive and publish 32 re-
sponses from my classmates
for the last issue of The Indicator (“Stevens at
150”) that I wanted a repeat. I sent out a mass
emailing, asking “Would you each please send
me one sentence that says something unique/
unexpected or unanticipated/worthy of note
about your COVID experience?” Here are the
responses, with thanks!
Ralph Bellrose: “Took a while for our names to
come up in the Manatee County, Florida, lottery,
but then it was less than an hour to complete the
process each time. Never got out of the car.”
Tom Corcoran: “COVID tested and forced me
to develop my tech skills in ways I would have
never imagined.”
Mike Dawson: “We fled to Hawaii for a week
right in the middle of the
COVID mess, stayed at a
huge beachfront home (a
relative’s) and enjoyed the
time out.”
Mark Groberg: “Not really
unique. We have been home,
both retired, fully vaccinated,
and now have a new grandson
and new Labradoodle puppy.”
Bob Jessup: “The entire
COVID-19 ‘pandemic’ is the
biggest fraud ever perpetu-
ated on the entire world, and
as such, neither my wife nor I
will get ‘vaccinated.’”
Bob Kopki: “We normally like to do an over-
seas trip every year. With COVID, that didn’t
make sense. Instead, we drove to national parks
on the East Coast (Great Smoky Mountains,
Shenandoah, Everglades) and loved it.”
Lou Milano: “NEW YORK — NO/FLORIDA
— YES.”
Joe Pfeuffer: “Having always been fascinated
by astrophysics, I have read much of what Sagan
has written. Although more than a decade old, I
think it’s applicable for today as it was back then.
Sagan wrote, ‘If you want to save your child from
polio, you can pray or you can inoculate. Choose
science.’”
Dan Rusinak: “Stevens was a forced march
with Ken Moser trying to fail you out and Dick Magee ’63 pulling you across the finish line. That
experience prepared me to get through anything.
Including COVID.”
Tom Schneider: “No haircut since March
2020 — hair longer than Brad Pitt in Troy!”
Jeff Seeman: “COVID brought Melinda and
me closer together in ways totally unanticipated
— and happily so.”
Richard Sieglitz: “A younger work colleague
was in intensive care for 48 days and on death’s
doorstep three times; however, over 100 people
were praying for his recovery and to the amaze-
ment of the hospital staff, he is alive and well
today.”
Now to “new business.” Nathan Molinari, a
sophomore majoring in electrical engineering
from Staten Island, New York, was selected for
the Class of ’67 Scholarship. Nathan is currently
enrolled in the co-op program, and during the
summer and fall of 2020, he worked with a
construction management company on a con-
struction site — even through the pandemic! He
started his third semester of study in February
2021. Nathan is interested in projects related
to the power grid and sustainable energy. In re-
sponse to several questions I posed him, Nathan
wrote the following:
“I feel that a core value I have gained from my
time at Stevens is an appreciation for the joy in
engineering. Coming into college, I was not sure
if engineering was really for me on a personal
level. However, my experience at Stevens has
cemented for me that engineering is as much an
expression of myself as it is a way to accomplish
difficult tasks. I hope that I can carry my experi-
ence at Stevens into my future and continue to
enjoy my life as an engineer.
“One thing at Stevens that has completely
exceeded my expectations is the co-op program.
When I came to Stevens, I always intended to be
in the co-op program, but I was not expecting the
amount of support that exists for it. As soon as
I entered the program, I received support from
multiple advisors. For example, I was given the
opportunity to practice interview skills. I have
already had the opportunity of seven months of
work experience which I will be able to carry into
my future careers.”
I also had a very lengthy and quite special
Zoom meeting with Nathan. I was blown away by
his maturity, enthusiasm and appreciation. I was
also pleased to hear his gratitude regarding the
’67 Scholarship. During and after the Zoom call, I
wondered: Was I as sophisticated and grounded
as Nathan when I was a sophomore? — Jeffrey I. Seeman, [email protected]
Gerry Osborne '66 is seen with his son, David '93 (far right of photo), and David's family.
Don’t see your class log listed? Send an update to [email protected] or call 201-216-5161.
Walt Korzun '66 is pictured with his fiancée, Louise McCarthy. Walt passed away in July 2020, and a tribute to him appears in the '66 log.
56 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
Merck, UNITEX, Stord-Bartz, Engelhard, Wiley
&Wilson, Carpenter Co., Dames & Moore, IT
Corp, EMS and, finally, Innovative Design. He’s
lived in West Virginia, Ohio, Arkansas, Georgia,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and now
Tennessee.
Internationally, he has had assignments in Ita-
ly, Spain, France, Norway, Germany, Canada and
England. He has also taught engineering courses
at local community colleges, as well as ISO 9001
and ISO 14001 courses from introductory to lead
auditor.
He and Cindy own a condo on St. Croix and
spend about 30% of their time there now. They
plan to increase that to 50% as they transition
the running of the Tennessee office to local staff.
Sounds like Michael has led a full life so far,
with the best yet to come.
Our next classmate guest will be Joe Carra.
Keep those cards and letters coming so I have
plenty of fuel for our class log! Stay safe. — Allen A. Foytlin, [email protected]
’69Log by Russ Eitel
July 2021 — It has been 52
years since we left the Stevens
campus for those promising jobs that were so
plentiful back in our day.Some of us continued to
graduate school, and some were drafted into the
military during the Vietnam War.Others chose to
take the alternative path to prosperity. Mostly,
we graduated with an engineering or science
degree, but some chose to be doctors, lawyers,
bankers, salesmen, builders or something that
appealed to us at that moment. Like Benjamin
Braddock in “The Graduate,” we were advised
“There is a great future in plastics.” We were too
early to ride the computer and technology wave
from the beginning, but we learned to adapt.
’68 July 2021 — As I prepare this
class log for the Fall Indicator,
I again hope and pray you and
your loved ones are healthy and safe. I hope all
of you have gotten vaccinated. I won’t argue the
merits of getting vaccinated. Nancy and I both got
our two shots back in late January, as soon as they
were available to us. I continue to wear a mask in
public, even though it’s no longer mandated by
the local authorities. Better to be safe than sorry.
Right after I filed my last class log in early Jan-
uary, David Joshi sent me a news clip indicating
he had received a prestigious award for his many
decades of radio broadcasting his own show that
features the Indian community (see this issue’s
“Grist from the Mill” section for more on this
award). Although he worked for many years at
Johnson &Johnson, I did not know he was a radio
personality as well. Way to go, David!
As I mentioned in my last log, I’m going to
feature Michael Hollander in this one. Michael
is currently vice president of engineering at
Innovative Design, Inc. in Knoxville, Tennessee.
His wife, Cindy, to whom he has been married for
18 years, is the owner of the engineering design
company. They have two adult children and three
grandchildren.
They recently opened up a satellite office in
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands and are providing
engineering services to local companies. The
last time I messaged him, he said he would be
looking for retired engineers who might want an
assignment on the island. Please contact him if
you’re interested in an island assignment. He’s
had a pretty exciting career as an engineer. He’s a
registered professional engineer and certified as
a lead auditor/course director for ISO 9001 and
ISO 14001 audits.
His career included positions at Union Car-
bide, Hilton Davis, Great Lakes Chemical, NIPRO,
Chi Psi alumni from the Class of ’69 gathered for a fun reunion in the Poconos. Pictured, from left, are Dale Jacquish, Frank Cifelli, David Vercollone, Joe Rocky (sitting), Don Kennedy, Phil Smith, Joe Giacone, Tom Lovdal, John Strelitz and Russ Eitel.
SAM BERKOW M.ENG. ’88, who invented
the SMAART software and designed some of
the country’s greatest-sounding concert halls,
including the Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York,
will receive the Audio Innovator Award at the
20th Annual Parnelli Awards, the Parnelli Board
of Advisors announced this summer.
Berkow has designed some of the most
revered concert halls in the country including
revered jazz rooms in St. Louis and San Francis-
co, as well as renovation work for the Hollywood
Bowl and the Grand Ole Opry. In 1995 he invent-
ed SMAART software, “which today remains the
standard and found on the laptop of nearly every
touring FOH and systems engineer in the world,”
according to Projection Lights and Staging maga-
zine. “SMAART (Sound Measurement Acous-
tical Analysis Realtime Tour) tests software for
real-time sound system measurements and is
critical for performance venues and facilities of
all kinds.”
Berkow is a freelance audio-related software
expert whose “passion for sound measure-
ment and acoustical design is deep and wide,”
Graduate Logaccording to the magazine. “His first professional
mixing gig was for blues great Willie Dixon, and
he would continue to handle sound for various
groups through college and beyond. But then
he became more interested in building studios
and halls that were acoustically sound.” Berkow
worked with Artec, an acoustics design and
theater planning firm, where he collaborated on
projects such as the Birmingham Symphony Hall
in England; and later with the Joiner Rose Group
in Dallas, before striking out on his own.
FALL 2021 57
What we were really learning all those years at
Stevens was how to think.We learned the ability
to solve complicated problems.We learned to
have confidence in our abilities.
Our group of Stevens friends has mainly
centered around our fraternity brothers that we
lived with while at Stevens.Today, we get together
with 15 to 20 alumni of all ages each month on a
regular Zoom meeting/cocktail hour. We rehash
old stories and update each other on milestones in
our families’ lives.It has been a super rewarding ex-
perience reconnecting with old friends, and I highly
recommend you reach out to your Stevens friends
that you haven’t seen in the past 10-50 years.
Please email me (Russ) your photos that you
would like included in future issues of The Stevens
Indicator.If you forward photos from your phone,
select the largest photo possible.It will be high
resolution and print the best. Please forward
any information and accomplishments that you
would like to share in The Stevens Indicator.
That’s all from beautiful Austin, Texas.
— Russ Eitel, [email protected]; Gerry Crisp-in, [email protected]; Ed Eichhorn, [email protected]
’70 July 2021 — We received quite a
bit of news. Tony Cusanelli retired in April 2014 and has
not regretted it at all. “I frequently wonder how I
ever found time to work. My wife’s great-great-
uncle was killed on the first day of the battle
at Gettysburg. In October 2014, we visited the
site where his unit (151st Pennsylvania Infantry)
fought and subsequently bought a house less
than a quarter-mile from where he fell, moving
here in February 2015.
“This part of Pennsylvania is quite pretty and
filled with history, rolling hills, apple orchards,
dairy farms and horses. Pennsylvania does not
levy state taxes on pension or Social Security
income, real estate taxes and health insurance
rates are better than New Jersey, and the traffic
is much calmer! It is a great place to retire.
“Linda Thorpe and I married during my senior
year at Stevens and celebrated our golden anni-
versary with six other Pi Lambda Phi fraternity
brothers who are also married to the women they
were dating while we were at Stevens. The party
of 37 people squeaked under the COVID limit of
50 two days before the country was shut down
on March 16, 2020. Both of us are in good health
and have avoided any issues with COVID-19.”
Tony also responded to my request for infor-
mation on deceased classmates, reminding me
that Ron Clements was his best man and died
two years later without ever marrying. Tony can
be reached at [email protected].
We also heard from Jabe Luttrell, who is living
in Key West, Florida, with his wife, JoAnn. “Our
home is on a canal, and we keep our Scarab cen-
ter console hovering above the water ready for
instant use. Caught three mahi-mahi yesterday.
Because we live at the end of the earth and the
drive to anything is many hours, we use our Cess-
na 340A to visit friends and relatives up north
in the lower 48. COVID and bad weather kept
us in Florida and the Bahamas, but we’re on the
cusp of venturing to the cold North soon. We’ve
noticed a lot of people visiting the Keys. Traffic is
pretty heavy, even after our normal busy season
(winter) is over. I wonder if any of the ’70 class
made it down here.
“To keep my hand in engineering, I’ve been
designing IoT devices and started a company to
sell them. Interestingly, none of the items I design
now could have been designed in our tenure at
Stevens. The technology just wasn’t there, nor
the data infrastructure. When I had my electron-
ics company that made embedded controls, I
thought the computing power in our devices was
really powerful. Now in my IoTs, the comput-
ers are even faster, smaller, more capable and
much more integrated as a system.” Jabe can be
reached at [email protected].
In our attempts to provide all spouses or
partners of deceased classmates with their Old
Guard pin, Pete Scheckermann let us know Dave Lynch’s wife, Barbara, passed around 2000 and
they had no children. After graduation, Dave
joined the Air Force Reserves and became a pilot
flying out of McGuire. In August 1976, he was
1Martine and Frank Cashin ’70 enjoy the beach at Peconic, Long Island, New York. Frank works part-time in his own practice as a professional engineer and has three children and seven grand-children. 2Pat and Russ Eitel ’69 on a recent road trip to Mount Rushmore. The road trip included South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Idaho — the last four states they had not visited. 3Gerry Crispin ’69 (third from right) and his first cousins (with 73 more of their children and grandchildren also attending!) at their 44th “Cousins’ Campout” at Cape May, New Jersey, in July.
David Joshi '68 has won a prestigious career award. Read more on pages 5 and 56.
58 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
flying into Mildenhall on a C141 that crashed in a
thunderstorm while on final approach.
Pete mentioned that he is doing well in Fort
Mill, South Carolina, and can be reached at
Rob Wissolik wrote, “We just moved from
Lafayette, Colorado, to Sequim, Washington, on
the Olympic Peninsula. My wife Carol and I love
it here.” Rob can be reached at pgtiwissolik@
comcast.net.
Rob also let us know that Gordon Quinones
has died. Besides Gordon, we provide infor-
mation on the passing of Bob Wisniewski and
Bernie Chachula. Gordon came to Stevens from
Rutherford, New Jersey, and majored in chemical
engineering. Music and the trumpet topped his
hobbies and interests, and he was a member of
the Stevens Dance Band, the Stevens Band and
the Glee Club. He was also a member of Tau Beta
Pi. After graduation he attended medical school,
becoming a urologist and practicing in North-
ern California. He worked very hard promoting
Stevens when we were in school. Gordon passed
away February 25, 2021, from COVID-19. We
send his wife, Carol, and their children our sin-
cere appreciation for having been able to know
Gordon.
Bob died on June 7, 2020, but we became
aware of his passing only recently. His life
partner, Jill Savitt, kindly provided this tribute:
“Bob Wisniewski grew up in the Elmwood section
of West Hartford, Connecticut. As a senior in
high school, he gladly accepted a scholarship to
Stevens (which he shared with Howie Brecher)
and never looked back.
“Bob loved Stevens and relished the times that
became stories of being housed on a ship when
dorms were scarce, of being a brother at Sigma
Nu, of singing in a tux in the Stevens Choir, play-
ing basketball, discovering the streets of Hobo-
ken and Manhattan (McSorley’s Ale House), and
a mandatory humanities class to supplement
all the science and engineering classes and lab
work. He majored in chemistry and, after gradu-
ation, returned to Stevens for advanced work in
electrical engineering. While he didn’t finish the
graduate degree, he met one of his lifelong best
friends, Marty Lassen ’77, during that time.
“Bob returned to Connecticut and worked at
various jobs, some chemistry related, and trav-
eled to New Mexico, California and Chicago, and
after his marriage, to France often. The highlight
of the 1970s was the birth of his son, Christopher,
in 1979. Bob’s lifelong passion was electron-
ics, and he enjoyed a long career in the field at
Infodex, a small company that manufactured flat
panel displays for military, hospitals, etc. When
the company closed in the early 2000s, Bob
worked for Reading for the Blind and Dyslexic as
a recording engineer and used his ability to fix
just about anything by starting a small business
in home repairs, including roofing.
“Bob continued his love of music with voice
and piano lessons, singing in various chorus-
es, and even sang in New York City for Pope
Benedict XVI. He joined a local community
chorus where he met his life partner, Jill, who
accompanied him through the next 20 years of
his life. They explored New England and shared
many interests, such as chorus, poetry, birding,
dancing (salsa and swing), and walking in the
woods. Bob spent the last seven years of his life
living with cancer, and had to learn to stand, walk
and drive again, which he did, “one foot in front
of the other,” literally and figuratively. Bob, a man
of science and faith, continued to live as fully as
possible — generous, humble and grateful to the
end, a man who always saw the good in every-
one, and believed that our path is guided by a
loving God.” Jill can be reached at JILL.SAVITT@
new-haven.k12.ct.us.
Jed Babbin was kind enough to let us know
Bernie died on April 26, 2021. Bernie came to
Stevens from Morganville, New Jersey, focusing
on mechanical engineering. While at Stevens,
Bernie was involved in The Stute, Sports Car Club,
Newman Club, AIAA and Arnold Air Society,
where he served as chaplain during his junior
year. He could often be seen with his fellow
AFROTC classmates Jed, Ed Atkins and Rich Bennett.
Karen Khasymska, the oldest daughter of
Bernie and Diane Chachula, provided information
on behalf of the family: “Bernie greatly enjoyed
his time at Stevens and treasured the lifelong
friendships and experiences made there. His ed-
ucation and ROTC experience jump-started his
32-year career as a U.S. Air Force officer, initially
working as a mechanical engineer. Bernie con-
tinued on with his education, earning his MBA
at the University of Georgia, his J.D. at Villanova
Law School, and his L.L.M. at George Washing-
ton University, but the engineering background
from his time at Stevens continued to play a
central role in his work in acquisitions law. In
2002, he retired as director of contract law for
the Air Force Materiel Command and continued
to pursue his passion for lifelong learning through
his involvement in a number of military, legal,
historical, and parish communities. Bernie’s
greatest pride was his family, and his legacy and
love for learning, will continue to live on through
Diane, his wife of 45 years; his children, Karen,
Jon and Laura; son-in-law, Alex; two grandchil-
dren; and many treasured friends.” The family
can be reached through Karen at khasymskak@
gmail.com.
Life is too short. Please plan to attend the Old
Guard Days; a new date will be announced.Until
then, stay safe and healthy and enjoy life.
— Eugene A.J. Golebiowski, [email protected]
’71July 2021 — I received notice of
Randall Hansen’s passing in
June 2021. His daughter wrote
that Randy enjoyed his days at Stevens, and that
the school gave him a great path for a career of
over 40 years in mechanical engineering, with
a focus on HVAC systems for pharmaceutical
companies.
Rick Gontin (formerly Gonzalez) passed away
in May 2020 after a long fight with Parkinson’s
disease. Always a creative thinker, when Rick
Gonzalez married Mary Ann in 1976, they
decided to blend their last names into Gontin.
He completed a master’s degree in physics from
Stevens in 1979. Rick had a wonderful career in
The Class of 1970 lost two beloved members recently: Bernie Chachula, left, and Bob Wisniewski. Their loved ones have shared touching trib-utes in the 1970 log.
Don’t see your class log listed? Send an update to [email protected] or call 201-216-5161.
FALL 2021 59
R&D, specializing in optics, and earned patents
and awards in the aerospace, medical technology
and semiconductor (lithography) industries. He
worked on the Hubble Space Telescope and the
Space Shuttle and improved satellite guidance
systems, training the space crew on the system
and earning a patent for his breakthrough work.
He also developed new technology for more
effectively and quickly analyzing blood samples
in medical centers using laser beams built into
the equipment. At his last job, at ASML, he won
awards and patents for his work in lithography
and oversaw R&D teams in the U.S. and the
Netherlands. Rick often spoke at industry and cli-
ent symposiums and presentations. He also did
community work in children’s sports, school and
church — mostly quietly and behind the scenes.
He was always there to help family and friends at
difficult times in their lives.
Diane and Joe Moaba sold their house in
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, for a price they
couldn’t refuse, to a Connecticut “refugee”
escaping the Northeast. It was bought sight
unseen with the buyer’s realtor walking through
with an iPhone. They bought a house on the In-
and interesting. The new twin tower dormitories
and student center are structurally done with
inside work progressing rapidly. They should be
opening by Spring 2022 and fully occupied in Fall
2022. Stevens’ Fall 2021 enrollment is expected
to include about 1,100 freshmen and a total of
4,000 undergraduates.
Our Class of 1971 Zoom “Reunion” on June 4,
2021, was attended by about 15 classmates and
was a great time. We all started out with a brief
summary of what we had done and were doing
now, which morphed into some interesting life
stories. The second hour was spent reminiscing
about Stevens, teachers (Salwen, Furst, Stein-
man, etc.), the cannon theft, Wednesday ROTC
drills, Saturday morning exams, the ship, etc.
After a brief ROTC/Air Force career, Roger Schatel finally settled in at AM Best in New
Jersey for 23 years doing IT work. Being trans-
ferred to the cyber security division hastened
his retirement in 2018. Besides working with the
Stevens Alumni Association, Roger likes to take
month-long trips Out West.
Glenn Babcock sold his Maryland house and
moved to Venice, Florida, but bought a cottage
tracoastal Waterway in Carolina Beach, North
Carolina — bigger, cheaper, and with much
lower taxes.
They met up with Nan and Ken Sullivan, who
are buying a house in Wilmington, North Caroli-
na, to be near their son and family. The Sullivans
plan to keep their Virginia estate for a little while.
Ginny and Paul Gaffney got together with
Nancy and Bob Munczinski at their Kiawah
Island, South Carolina, residence to celebrate
our 50th. The Gaffneys’ children all live in the
Charleston, South Carolina, area.
The Class of 1971 was tremendously suc-
cessful in our efforts to establish a permanently
endowed Class of 1971 Stevens scholarship
award. By the end of the campaign in June, we
edged past our goal of $100,000 to endow the
scholarship. The donations reflected an amazing
contribution from about 30% of class members.
Due to lingering COVID-19 concerns, our
in-person 50th reunion in June 2021 was
canceled and will likely be rescheduled for June
2022. Stevens did, however, arrange a number
of remote events that weekend. I participated
in four of them, and they were all very well run
The Class of ’71 reunited virtually this past June to mark their 50th anniversary at Alumni Weekend 2021.
60 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
in Virginia to visit with his three sons and nine
grandkids in the area and in North Carolina.
He spent 12 years with Carrier, then 30 years
with Baltimore Aircoil before retiring. Glenn still
plays catcher on a real baseball team, although
his throws to second base now take three hops.
He is also still working with the Orioles through
their Sarasota, Florida, spring training site. He is
looking forward to 2024 to celebrate his 50th an-
niversary with Kathy. He still displays his musical
skills in a Dixieland band, playing the accordion
and banjo.
Debbie and Stan Hutchings spend as much
time as possible with their 13-year-old grandson.
With his chemistry degree, Stan spent 33 years
at Hoffmann-La Roche doing synthesis research
before retiring in 2005. He moved to New Hamp-
shire and works part-time at Father’s Mustache.
More stories from our virtual reunion in the
next Indicator! — William Stengle; [email protected]
’72 July 2021 — Fellow Classmates:
I’m writing to you fresh — no,
exhausted (!) — from a long
visit to Disney World with my grandchildren. And
the Marines think their training facility in Parris
Island is tough, HA!
Well, guys, our 50th Reunion will be celebrated
on the Stevens campus from June 2 to 5, 2022.
It is less than a year away! Please mark your
calendars and make an effort to join us at the
festivities. It will be a grand celebration. We are
considering campus tours, cocktail parties and
a class dinner where the Old Guard pins will be
distributed. The question is: What else do you
want to do to make this reunion extra-special
and worth the trip to Hoboken? A cruise on the
Hudson, a tour of Hoboken to see how it has
changed, a game at Yankee Stadium, a dinner at
a Hoboken restaurant, a cruise to the Caribbean?
We need your feedback because all of these
options require deposits and take time to plan.
Email us! Many thanks to those of you who have
expressed interest in helping with the reunion
preparations by joining the reunion committee.
Everyone is welcomed to become part of our
organizational team. Take it away, George….
Thanks, Enrique! Speaking about the reunion,
your class officers have been meeting to provide
some compelling reasons to join us at the
reunion. We want to make sure our reunion is a
special and exciting event unique to our class.
For example, the officers are preparing a 50th
anniversary booklet that will explore our years
on campus and the world around us in the late
’60s and early ’70s — including our music, cars,
venues, mixers and fraternity life. We also are
collecting stories of our adventures, escapades,
and memorable moments during our under-
graduate days for inclusion in the booklet or for
publication in future class logs. Kindly send your
stories and any photos to our email addresses.
We continue to seek fraternity members who
are willing to help encourage their brothers to
attend the reunion festivities. It is always more
fun to celebrate with many old friends. We could
use assistance with finding volunteers for Beta Theta Pi, Chi Phi, Phi Sigma Kappa, Pi Lambda and Theta Xi. If you are a member of one of these
fraternities and would be willing to volunteer
some time to calling or emailing your brothers,
please contact us.
Now on to some class news.
After about 30-plus years, the lovely Maryann
and I were able to catch up with Joyce and
classmate Walter (Buddy) Klosterhoff (Theklos-
[email protected]). We had a very enjoyable
lunch at a beautiful restaurant overlooking Lake
Hopatcong in New Jersey. Buddy retired from
PSEG’s Computer Operations Group in Newark,
New Jersey, after 34 years of dedicated service.
Joyce and Buddy have one daughter, Dawn, born
in our sophomore year. During his Stevens years,
Buddy commuted on the Erie Lackawanna from
Dover to Stevens while Joyce taught elemen-
tary school. Not an easy trip each day. Later,
Dawn became a certified public accountant.
Like her dad, she is very good with numbers.
Today, Buddy has the time to spend with his two
grandchildren, while Joyce and Buddy also help
their son-in-law with his hair salon in Boonton,
New Jersey.
We also heard from our faithful and prolific
scrivener, Christ Haritos ([email protected]),
who had “some news to share” with us:
“In late September 2020, my children had an
extended weekend from school. They are teenag-
ers, so there will be less things that they will want
to do with their parents as time passes. With the
limited lockdown narrowing our travel options,
I felt that a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in
Cooperstown, New York, would work well for my
son, a big baseball fan. I took it a step further and
contacted classmate Tom Haher (TomHaher@
aol.com), about visiting him at his farm in Tully,
New York. Since my daughter loves animals, the
visit would offer something for her. I was looking
forward to the trip because I had not seen Tom
since we graduated.
“The visit at Tom’s farm was delightful. He
and his wife, Mary Jane, made us welcome with
a huge buffet. Our twins got a tour of the house
from their son Brian, then they settled in his study
for a foray into a series of electronic games.
“Tom and I spoke of our 50th class reunion.
We agreed to reunite and to contact two of our
friends. Tom contacted John Corrado, and I
NBC News interviews Deborah (Naas) O’Rourke ’75 on Commencement Day 1975. Deborah was a member of the first class of women admitted to Stevens in fall 1971. See her on Move-In Day on page 43. And see more photos of the first class of women on page 63.
FALL 2021 61
touched base with John Garibaldi. Both agreed
to come to the reunion. This has the makings of
a reunion touch football game (one touchdown
or closest to the goal line wins it — and then off
to the bar).”
Sounds great, Christ. Thanks for reaching
out to Tom and John. Looking forward to seeing
everyone at the reunion. — George W. Johnston, [email protected]; Enrique L. Blanco; [email protected]
’73 July 2021 — We are only two
short years from our 50th re-
union, and we continue to hear
from more and more of our fellow classmates.
Many of them have contributed and are continu-
ing to contribute to our class gift, an endowed
scholarship. A big thank you to all who have
contributed! And we look forward to seeing all of
you at our big reunion. Look for more information
as we get closer.
We welcomed a new member of the Class of
1973 this year when the Stevens Alumni Associ-
ation board unanimously voted to approve Ron Harris as an active member of the Class of ’73.
As Bruce Blondina so eloquently presented to the
board, “As Stevens alumni we leave with a piece
of paper and a sizeable amount of knowledge and
experience that are the keys to our career. Many
also meet a friend they will have for life; some will
meet their soulmate who will be their partner for
life; hopefully, most will leave with some great
memories. Ron left without the degree, but he
found something very important at Stevens — his
calling — his avocation and his vocation.
“Ron unabashedly put it best when he said
that Stevens ‘did give me the experience and
skills for a very successful and fulfilling career in
broadcasting. It would not have been possible
without my years at Stevens, and I have always
felt a debt of gratitude to the school.’
“Ron’s debt of gratitude to Stevens (has
been paid by) giving treasure, time, and most
importantly his talent over nearly 50 years,
whether that was frequently coming back East
to mentor the students at WCPR or having major
rock groups he knew record liners and promos
for WCPR.
“Ron is well known and remembered by the
Class of ’73, such that within the first 24 hours,
21 of his 250 classmates had signed the petition.”
A benefit from the outreach of your class
officers is that we are getting updates from some
of you. Here is one from Tom Szeluga: “I retired
about two years ago from Citibank, where I
spent most of my time working in their tech-
nology risk area. I spend most of my time these
days volunteering at church and local activities,
Many of these have closed down because of the
pandemic, but I’ve been able to still work three to
four days a week at Morris Habitat for Humanity,
where I’m working on building affordable houses
for deserving families in the area.”
George Shaffer has been reaching out to
fellow alumni and has this update from Rich Klockner. Rich is still working in New York City as
a safety engineer at building construction sites.
Unfortunately, Rich’s wife of 33 years passed
away in 2020. George also had a chance to bring
up some mutual friends from Stevens days: Rob-ert Janson, Dennis Hurley and Tom Critelli.
We heard from Fred Vanderbeek, who like
many of us had to cancel travel in 2020. Fred has
been a regular donor to our scholarship. Thanks,
Fred.
We also heard form Joel Katzman, who writes,
“Even though I officially retired from my present
company, CTCI Americas, on January 15, I am
CREATE YOUR To help ensure a bright future, my wife, Barbara, and I have included
Stevens in our estate plan. We have designated our legacy gift to Stevens’ endowment to establish a permanent scholarship fund in our names that
will support future students of the College of Arts and Letters.— John B. McDonnell ’72, Member, Stevens Legacy Society
It’s easy to include Stevens in your will or living trust, or name the university as a beneficiary of a retirement account, life insurance policy or other financial account. With these gifts:
• You control the funding property during your lifetime.• You may change your bequest or beneficiary designation at any time.• Your bequest or trust designation will not be subject to any potential federal estate tax.• You gain membership in the Stevens Legacy Society for providing future support for the university.
Take action with our planning tools at stevens.giftplans.org
Contact Michael Governor, Stevens Director of Planned Giving, today at 201.216.8967 or [email protected]
”
“
Barbara and John McDonnell ’72 with
Nariman and Hoveida Farvardin at Stevens’
Celebration of Philanthropy dinner, October 2019
62 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
still in contract with them and staying active on
projects. I also represent them on technical com-
mittees in association with American Petroleum
Institute and Process Industry Practices. Laura
and I still stay active with some travel and with
our daughters and their families. And we cele-
brated our 45th wedding anniversary on June 12.”
The latest recipient of a Class of ’73 schol-
arship is Erika Vargas, a civil engineering major
in the Class of 2023. Erika had this to say to the
Class of ’73: “Thank you for the Class of 1973
Scholarship. I appreciate the assistance and am
honored to have been a recipient. The additional
financial support lightened the burden on myself
as well as my parents, who not only take care of
my two younger brothers but financially support
one of my cousins, as well as my grandparents. I
was able to truly delve into my courses as well as
enjoy the other aspects of college without having
to work a full-time job. This has truly solidified
the fact that I want to be able to give back to
future Stevens students. I hope to be able to
participate in a scholarship fund after I graduate.
Once again, thank you, and I wish you all the
best!” — Anthony Callendrello, [email protected]
it so. Our years starting in 1970, at the place
that molded us, and then the decades of life
that brought us to this time. We and our fellow
classes of “Old Guard” bring the name of Stevens
to life with our families and friends and with the
organizations we joined or formed.
How should we celebrate? Our celebration
should be about representing ourselves and what
we have accomplished. Certainly, our success
monetarily or levels of responsibility in organiza-
tions are part of it. However, our reputation and
Stevens’ reputation were built on the personal
attributes of honesty and integrity reinforced
during our time there and carried into our later
lives. If these did not exist, our success and the
institute’s reputation would suffer greatly.
The officers will be meeting regularly and
communicating our thoughts on celebrating,
but please share your ideas as well so we may
incorporate every idea possible.
Just a little about what I’ve been doing. In
2019, I’d begun researching my wife’s and my
family history. Gathering all the information we
had or could remember from conversations with
parents and other family, I began digging through
every site I could. With a lot of time and patience,
’74 July 2021 — “You’ve got to admit
it’s getting better, a little better
all the time:” The Beatles said
it best as we hope to continue the decline of the
COVID pandemic in the later part of 2021.
My recent log ended with Per Aspera Ad Astra.
Per aspera. We now have terrible clarity of the
collective hardship all of us lived through in 2020
and early 2021. We universally grieve for those
who have suffered the greatest hardship and
celebrate the incredible government, industry
and scientific response to develop the vaccines
to get us where we are today.
Ad Astra is our call to look “to the stars.” With
lots of time to reflect and think, are we ready
to rediscover the light we’d been following? Or
ready to add a new light, a new direction, for the
rest of our journey?
Your class officers: President Frank Don-aldson, Vice President Greg Gemgnani, Fund
Captain Bob Thoelen and I will be asking for your
help as we head into our 50th reunion in a couple
of years. “Old Guard” may not be the term all of
us want to be known by, but here we are. The
“Old Guard,” those protectors of what Stevens
is all about, because we have helped make
VitalsBirths
To Victoria (O’Connor) Blazeski ’11 and George Blazeski ’10 M.Eng. ’11, a son, Erik,
on 12/9/2020.To Stephanie (Miller) Sota ’11 and
Alex Sota ’10, a son, Austin, on 2/22/21.
ObituariesUndergraduate
R.M. Andersen ’43 1/30/21
C.H. Anderson ’43 5/30/21
J. Schlichting ’44 4/28/20
R. Bahr, Jr. ’45 5/11/21
J.A. Misteli ’46 1/26/21
L.E. Sealey ’46 9/26/19
N.D. Sellman ’47 5/25/21
D.E. Cordell ’49 6/6/21
H.C. Kellenbence ’49 5/12/21
J.F. Sullivan ’49 2/2/21
R.T. Ellis ’50 2/11/21
J.H. Helfrich ’50 4/13/21
R.L. Turner ’50 4/19/21
V.L. Dagostino ’51 6/12/21
E.W. Dittmeier ’51 3/31/21
K.R. Goller ’52 6/5/21
D.L. Hertz, Jr. ’52 1/9/21
R.T. Greengrove ’53 4/13/21
H.R. Angel ’54 6/30/21
A.D. Rogers ’54 3/8/21
D.E. Nold ’55 3/26/21
J.H. Beardall ’56 8/2/21
A.E. Lager ’56 Unknown
J. Medige ’56 1/21/21
R.G. Young ’56 1/12/21
J. Plecs, Jr. ’57 2/25/21
S.L. Gavin ’59 4/2/21
D.T. Kopp ’59 4/23/21
A.A. Allan ’60 2/3/21
R.P. Forslund ’60 M.S. ’62 8/3/21
E.J. Marticorena ’68 4/15/21
J.R. Wolff ’68 7/22/21
A.C. Payne, Jr. ’69 5/27/21
B.M. Chachula ’70 4/26/21
R.A. Wisniewski ’70 6/7/20
R.W. Hansen ’71 6/2/21
R.C. Reale ’71 4/29/21
C.L. Peterson ’72 6/16/21
J.J. Tamulevicz ’72 3/26/21
N.E. Langseder ’77 3/4/21
S.H. Ryder Reyes ’96 10/28/20
K.L. Wilson ’99 5/5/21
S.A. Kolonko ’05 7/21/21
GraduateC.M. Close M.S. ’53 4/3/21
M.M. Donigian M.S. ’55 7/28/21
A.P. Walsh M.S. ’55 2/1/21
R.S. Forsyth M.S. ’59 3/21/21
M. Rachman M.S. ’61 1/14/21
F. Jackson M.S. ’62 4/16/21
M.J. Hogan M.S. ’65 2/7/21
E.D. Prescott, Jr. M.M.S. ’65 1/2/21
R.C. Gibson M.S. ’66 4/4/21
P.A. Liberti Ph.D. ’66 1/18/21
M.A. Vallent M.Eng. ’67 3/1/21
R.T. Nixon M.S. ’68 3/11/21
P. Skerchock M.M.S. ’68 1/17/21
M.W. Decere M.M.S. ’69 1/17/21S.E. Hunt M.Eng. ’77 5/27/21T.H. Lloyd M.S. ’84 7/13/21
T.M. Bohan M.S. ’93 1/10/21
R.W. Pettiford E.M.T.M. ’05 1/30/21
J.A. Hunter M.Eng. ’09 9/8/19
G.J. Yorke M.Eng. ’09 2/17/21
A. Randazzo M.Eng. ’10 4/20/21
FacultyC. Suffel M.Eng. ’85 2/4/21
S. Hassiotis 6/13/21
FALL 2021 63
the result was being able to trace ancestors back
to 1800 in the U.S., Germany, Scotland, Ireland,
England and Italy with certainty. Since I am the
first in my side of the family born in the U.S., it
meant much time searching European infor-
mation. Each piece of information we had was
verified, and then I started tracing online.
Online is a story by itself. The information
depended upon someone from a government,
church or other organization translating and
typing the information correctly. Misspelled
names and incorrectly read dates could have
sent me in a completely wrong direction if I didn’t
find the originals. I didn’t accept it unless I could
verify the original. The conclusion for anyone
doing this is: You can’t trust the information on
sites like Ancestry.com or similar ancestry sites
without verifying. All of this research was finally
combined into a narrative with the significant
events of the time so our family could understand
what our relatives lived through, much like we
and our current families have lived through in this
pandemic. It added valuable perspective of the
many major upheavals in the lives of our families.
It certainly made us all appreciate what our
ancestors went through for us.
For the past four years I’d been working
with a small local non-profit group in the area
I live. They provide minor funding to support
some improvements to several small downtown
boroughs. Mostly rural, beautiful rolling hills,
woodlands, and farms surround these boroughs.
They had one major non-farm industry, slate
quarrying, which declined, then ended in the mid-
thanks to all of you who generously contributed
to this achievement. As you well know, 1975 was
the first year in Stevens’ history in which women
were admitted. Therefore, in commemoration
of this truly groundbreaking event, the Class of
1975 is very proud to announce that one of the
two scholarships will be awarded to a female
applicant. Each scholarship will be in the amount
of $3,000. The award criteria are based on
superior academic achievement and financial
need. Thanks again for making this possible, and
we look forward to your future financial support.
When you give, just please be sure to desig-
nate your gifts to the “1975 Class Endowment
Scholarship Fund.” Lastly, our class should be
very proud of the great turnout in this year’s Day
of Giving — our participation percentage ranked
eighth among Stevens alumni classes! Please
know that your contribution in any amount
will make a difference to advance the future of
deserving students at Stevens.
Alumni Mentorship Program: In a number of
interactions, discussions and Zoom calls with
class members over the past year, a common
thread has emerged with an idea to give back to
Stevens in a unique way. With over 10,000 years
of collective life experience within our class,
there is a strong desire to help and guide those
just beginning, or in the beginning or middle of
their careers. Martha Connolly has crafted a
proposal with the assistance of Harry MacArthur
for a Stevens Alumni Mentorship Program. Karl Young, our class president, has reached out to
Stevens and is in the process of working with the
1950s as asphalt shingles took over the market.
Last year, a group of us began identifying how
to improve the area, and I formed an investment
company with them to provide more funds to
the area. More to come as it evolves. — Gary A. Jung, [email protected]
’75 July 2021 — Dear Classmates,
we hope this edition of The
Indicator finds you and your
families well. There has been quite a bit of activi-
ty under way with our class leadership, for which
we would like to provide you an update.
Class Reunion: Our 45th reunion was
cancelled due to the pandemic. We had hoped
to reschedule Reunion this year, but in our
discussions with Stevens it became apparent
that a physical reunion in June presented too
great a risk. Therefore, two virtual reunions were
held via Zoom on June 4 and 5. Although no
substitute for a live event, the virtual format was
a good way to see old classmates and friends and
share some great stories about our time on Cas-
tle Point. If all goes well, we fully expect to plan
a live event in June 2022. We hope to see many
of you there! Until then, we plan on a Q3 class
Zoom gathering. Your suggestions for topics to
cover would be appreciated.
Class of ’75 Scholarship Fund: This year’s
Stevens Day of Giving helped our class scholar-
ship fund cross the $100,000 mark for our class
endowment. After so many years, this threshold
has finally been reached and we can now begin
awarding scholarships this fall of 2021. Many
1A Stevens Alumni Association event welcoming the first class of women. 2 Class of '75 friends Malena Higuera, Pat La Salle, Deborah O'Rourke and Martha Connolly explore the Grand Canyon. 3One of many alumnae gatherings through the years of the first class of women. Seated, from left, are Tina Doyle, Malena Higuera and Martha Connolly. Standing from left are Lenore Schupak’74 and Pat La Salle. 4 Lenore Schupak ’74 (who graduated a year early to become the first woman to receive an undergraduate degree from Stevens) and friends.
64 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
administration to implement this program. Karl
has moved Martha’s proposal to the Stevens
Alumni Leadership Committee for consideration.
They agreed this was a great idea but could not
commit to implementation this fall due to other,
pre-planned programs. As a start, we will offer
mentoring opportunities to the two recipients of
the 1975 scholarship program this fall. Everyone
in our class is welcome to contribute as a mentor
and to provide advice on different topics. More
communication to follow as we begin to engage
with Stevens on this exciting new program.
Class of 1975 Advisory Board: An advisory
board has been set up to assist the class officers
in reviewing/brainstorming new ideas and pol-
icies. Seven classmates volunteered to join the
board. The board has already been instrumental
in crafting the guidelines for the class scholarship
program. If you are interested in participating on
the board, please let us know.
Seattle Micro-Reunion: A “micro-reunion” in
Seattle was planned this July with Karl Young,
Julius Ballanco, Dave Tietje, Eric Mathieson, Fred Leierzapf and John Sylvester. This is a great way
for our class to connect locally, and we encourage
you to organize such events in your areas as well.
New Class VP Appointed: Karl Young’s pro-
posal to add Martha Connolly as our second class
vice president has been approved by Stevens.
Martha is an innovator and brings strong leader-
ship skills to this role. Additionally, she represents
the first class of women admitted to Stevens. As
such, her voice will serve as a conduit to all wom-
en in the Stevens community and assist in getting
the Alumni Mentorship Program off the ground,
along with other class initiatives. Let’s wish Mar-
tha the best of success in her new capacity.
As always, we look forward to news from you.
We want The Indicator to be about you! Hope to
hear from you soon! — Harold J. MacArthur, Jr., [email protected]; Joseph A. Krieger, [email protected]
’76 July 2021 — Nine members of
the Class of ’76 Zoomed in for
our 45th Reunion during Vir-
tual Alumni Weekend. Not a bad showing, given
circumstances, and not too far off other reunion
classes. We had a lively discussion, and, being
engineers, relied on PowerPoint slides to bring
back some memories, as well as view the many
changes made on campus since graduation. Tom Errington will perform some magic to make the
slides available to all. Embarrassing extracts from
The Stute and senior booklet showed just how
much we changed — or not — depending on your
state of denial.
Here’s a brief update on the nine of us:
Tom Errington — Retired, living in Brick, New
Jersey, continuing to be hopeful he can go on a
cruise again but keeping busy with consulting
gigs in management systems. “Our grandsons,
Quinton, Declan and Nathaniel, are 5, 2 and 1, re-
spectively. In November, we will be at the Grand
Canyon for a few days. Darcy will retire February
1. Immediately after (February 2), we are cruising
the Caribbean for 11 days, then touring Florida
for another 18 days visiting relatives and friends,
including the Aienas. In June, we will take a 26-
day cruise round-trip from Copenhagen in the
Baltic and North Seas out to Iceland, Scotland
and many places in between.
Foster Miller — Living in Laurel, Maryland,
retired from government service in 2018 and
has taken advantage of retirement to travel to
stamp-collecting events around the country. “In
2019, I drove over 29,000, miles, including trips
to Arizona, Alabama, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri,
Nebraska and South and North Dakota. In early
2020, I bought a new car and made a quick trip to
Orlando and back. The next week the pandemic
hit, and I spent most of the next year on Zoom. I’m
now looking forward to resuming my road trips.”
Bob Wu — Retired from Starbucks Coffee
International and now lives in Lake Ronkonkoma,
New York.
John Zaccaria — Retired from ITT/Exelis and
1While visiting a client in Seattle this past July, Julius Ballanco ’75 met up with Class of ’75 friends 46 years after graduation. Gathering, from left, were Erik Mathieson, Fred Leierzapf, Julius Ballanco, Karl Young, Dave Tietje and John Sylvester. 2The Class of ’76 reunited via Zoom to mark their 45th anniversary during the Virtual Alumni Weekend 2021. Read updates from those who attended in the ’76 log. 3Frank Roberto ’76, left, and John Guide
’56 M.S. ’65 met for lunch this past May in Kingwood, Texas. They worked together at ExxonMobil and are now retired. John retired after 33 years with the company and previously worked with Curtiss-Wright and Kearfott and served in the Air Force. 4Ed Kolano ’76 drove the 2,400 miles of Route 66 in the summer of 2016 and shared this photo at the end of his journey in Santa Monica, California. Catch up with him in the ’76 log.
FALL 2021 65
is living in New Jersey. He is a proud parent after
his daughter’s graduation in software engineer-
ing from Stevens this past May.
Jack Leonard — Teaching in Maryland and
recently remarried.
Barry Ocello — Retired from Siemens and
living in Grayslake, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
Dennis Weinstein — Retired for the last eight
years, living in Seattle, Washington.
Ken Wahl — Retired from Infineum and living
on Long Beach Island. As mentioned in the last
Indicator, their son, Nick, and his wife, Jaime,
were expecting a baby boy. Lucas Michael Wahl,
their fourth grandchild, was born April 5. Lucas
and his mom and dad are doing great.
Frank Roberto — Retired from ExxonMobil
and still living in Texas, proud parent of four plus
three in-law children, and grandparent of 11.
And to the other nearly 200 who could not
make the reunion, please drop me a note at
[email protected] with any updates
on you and your families that we can share in the
next Indicator.
Ed Kolano dropped a note with news of an
impending retirement, saying, “I plan to pull the
plug July 31 this year after 41 years of govern-
ment service in the USMC and FAA. I’ll probably
do some consulting flight test work after that,
but only fun projects. Mostly I want to get back
on the road on my motorcycle. I’ve ridden trips of
5,000-7,000 miles most of the past 10 summers
(back in the good old pre-COVID era) and have
come home with some interesting stories. You
can Google “kolano route 66” in case your retire-
ment came with a case of insomnia.”
An interesting article, recapping Ed’s journey
the length of Route 66 in the summer of 2016,
includes this closing comment: “Navigational
missteps, weather challenges, some awful road
surfaces, parasitic itch-makers and a hotel
room with no — get this — cold water, and I
wouldn’t change a thing. The sights, experiences,
terrific riding road segments and most of all, the
people we encountered, made for a 2,400-mile
dopamine drip. Enjoyed every minute, even the
miserable minutes, and I’d do it again. Except for
crossing the desert in the afternoon in August —
that was just dumb.” Overall a very good read.
The accompanying picture is at journey’s end
in Santa Monica. — Frank Roberto, [email protected]; Thomas F. Errington, [email protected]
’77August 2021 — Hello Class of
77! Well, I must say I really
messed up this time. I com-
pletely missed the deadline announcement for
this issue of the Indicator, so I’m frantically trying
to put a short bit together if only to remind all of
you that (depending upon when you get this is-
sue of the Indicator) we are around eight to nine
months from our 45 th graduation anniversary
and (hopefully) the reunion. The planning dates
at his point would appear to be the weekend of
June 3 rd through the 5 th of 2022.
Depending upon where you are the Delta
variance has had quite an impact, and in some
cases, that’s putting it mildly. This of course
means that there are a few “what ifs” regarding
what the reunion in June 2022 will look like. The
only thing I can offer right now is for you to watch
the Stevens website, the Class of ‘77 Facebook
page, our LinkedIn site, or to sign up for the class
newsletter.
Initially, Jeff, Dawn and I will be putting
together plans for the reunion for our class, and
as we approach the date, no doubt, we’ll be re-
cruiting support from some of you to help make
it all happen.
Remember, if you want to be on the mailing
list for the Class of 77 newsletter email your re-
quest to [email protected]. Stay
in touch with us that way or - LinkedIn: “Stevens
Class of 1977” (https://www.linkedin.com/
groups/4478051) - Facebook page: “Stevens In-
stitute of Technology: Class of ’77”. If you plan to
donate don’t forget the class of 1977 endowment
scholarship. If you can’t find your way to it on
the Stevens website please contact the Alumni
Office or any of the 1977 class officers. (Jeff
Iapicco, Dawn Ortell, or myself.)
Take care,— Paul Porzio, Producer/Host, Eclectic Hours, Radio Fairfax Sundays 10am-Noon Streaming Live; [email protected]
’79 June 2021 — John Dearborn
was appointed as a director
to the board of Arcanum
Infrastructure, LLC in Houston, the company
announced in June. Dearborn, who is also a
member of the Stevens Board of Trustees,
brings experience in the chemical space, both
domestically and internationally, with leader-
ship in world-scale processing plants, licensing
technology and commercial negotiations, along
with financial and strategic initiatives, within
prior companies such as Union Carbide, Dow
Chemical, SABIC, and the Williams Companies.
Kevin Clement, chair of Arcanum’s Board
of Managers, said, “With over four decades
of experience in petrochemicals including the
LAO (Linear Alpha Olefin) space, John has led
successful teams in developing and growing
business platforms. We are excited he has joined
our team and look forward to his leadership
in making Arcanum Infrastructure, LLC a key
partner to the growth in North America. John’s
insights and relationships will enhance our value
proposition and help extend the reach of our
customer base.” Clement said Arcanum currently
owns and operates Raven Butene-1, LLC, a fit-for-
purpose Butene-1 facility in Baytown, Texas. Ar-
canum is a jointly owned holding company with
majority interests held by global private markets
firm Partners Group, on behalf of its clients, and
assets managed by Ontario Power Generation,
including the Ontario Power Generation Pension
Fund. — [email protected]
’80 July 2021 — I’m happy to share
updates with you from a group
of classmates we haven’t heard
from in a while. (Thank you, Katy!)
Helaine Horwitz Cuddy (my very first Stevens
roommate!) wrote, “After graduating, I worked
at IBM and got my M.S. in operations research
from Brooklyn Poly. During my 35-year career, I
was involved with two niche operating systems
(TPF and Tandem) and their hardware/software.
My area of passion and expertise was in Systems
Performance Modelling. As such, I also moved
around a lot, always looking for a challenge. I was
living in Colorado and decided to move into doing
“fix and flip” real estate before it was “big.” When
my hubby was diagnosed with cancer, our world
changed overnight, and we moved to a house
we were building on a lake in South Carolina. I
purchased rental properties and have them to this
day. He passed a year later, and I moved to where I
live today, Brevard, North Carolina, on a lake which
was always my dream. I have a beautiful daughter,
Laura, and son-in-law, Max. I have a wonderful
partner, Hans, who I share my life with.”
Following graduation (which included both his
B.E. and M.E. in four years), Dino Favetta worked
at Exxon on some exciting projects around the
world, including a one-year stint in Saudi Arabia.
For the past 31 years, he’s been running his own
consulting company, working on a gamut of
projects with a recent focus in electric storage,
for which he has a number of patents. He is an
66 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
the seat of the Drikung Kagyu Tibetan Buddhist
lineage. A Tibetan community lives and works
around the monastery, and I was very taken by
the amazingly intricate, beautiful gates that lead
to the houses.
“I retired from my environmental, health and
safety engineering job at Sandia National Labora-
tories in October 2018 after serving there nearly
29 years. In 2019, the labs asked me to return
part-time as a technical consultant on the same
environmental cleanup project that I passionately
led while an employee. I have returned spring to
fall every year since then to continue this import-
ant work.
“I received my Master Gardner qualification
from New Mexico State University in October
2019 and have been an active volunteer working
the grower’s hot line, maintaining the main
garden at the Albuquerque Garden Center, cre-
ating fresh arrangements for holiday sales and
growing plants for our annual Spring Plant Sale.
I have been developing my home yard to offer a
garden tour in the near future.
“I also had the opportunity to reignite my
love of traditional Chinese brush painting with
classes with a local artist, who also taught me
modern Splash painting (acrylic slip dripped
onto a canvas or other surface, then tilted or
spun to create the art).
“I plan to do more traveling, hopefully Iceland,
Europe, South America and more Asian destina-
tions. In my retirement, there just are not enough
hours in the day!”
Thank you for taking the time to share updates
Helaine, Dino and Janise!
As for me, I’ve experienced both great joy
and tremendous sadness since my last Indicator
submission. In March, I became a grandmother
for the first time (and am totally smitten with the
little guy!). In late June, I lost my dear mother at
the age of 99. Blessed, I know, to have had her in
my life for so many years, and I will miss her more
than I can say. Such is the circle of life, I suppose.
Take care and be in touch. — Kathy M. Burkholder McCarthy, [email protected]
’81July 2021 — We are seeing some
signs of “normalcy” as we begin
to come out of our pandemic
cocoons with many getting vaccinated — though
we know that this pandemic is not done with us
yet. In the midst of all this, life still happens, and
we have some news to share from a few of our
fellow classmates.
Rachele Grasso Smith was recently appointed
to the SAA Board as a director at large. Rachele is
a senior project manager at Buckeye Partners LP,
one of the largest independent liquid petroleum
products pipeline operators in the U.S., and is cur-
rently responsible for the company’s New Jersey
solar power-producing projects.
During her years as a Stevens student, Rachele
served as the first woman president of the Stevens
Student Section of ASME and played the lead
role in her senior year musical, My Fair Lady.
Since graduation, she helped develop the Stevens
Parents’ Council and held the first attending
students/parents get-together in her home. She
and her husband regularly attended meetings of
the council. Rachele and her daughter volunteered
their time to man the alumni/current student
table at Accepted Students Day, and she has been
an active alum of the Stevens Dramatic Society.
She navigated the COVID-19 climate to help make
scholarship determinations as well.
Rachele, who is serving on the Class of 1981
40th anniversary committee, has been a member
of the Edwin A. Stevens Society for several years
and regularly attends lectures, concerts, plays and
Lore-El Center events.
And from our VP, Dave Ritter: Thanks, Gloria,
for doing a great job as our new class secretary
— as you’ve seen, it’s often a challenge getting
adjunct professor in the chemical engineering
department at Stevens. He and his wife live in
Morristown and have three children, the young-
est of which is a 2011 Stevens graduate.
From Albuquerque, Janise Baldo shared,
“Since becoming single again in 2014, life has
been very busy for me in the high desert of
New Mexico! In 2017, I had the opportunity to
visit India and Nepal for a Buddhist festival in
Northern India. Sightseeing included mosques,
the Taj Mahal, temples, the Ganges, craft
demonstrations and talks at local artisan shops.
The trip was magical, tragic and exciting all at
once. To witness first-hand the traffic flow —
cars, taxis, buses, motorcycles, pedestrians,
mopeds, trucks, cows, camels, dogs, bicycles,
monkeys, horse-drawn carts and three-wheeled
“tik tiks” — was a mystical experience. It was
life-changing as well, as I am overwhelmed with
gratitude to live in a country where I no longer
take for granted the comforts of daily living, such
as breathing clean air, drinking clean water and
having access to bathroom facilities.
“The houses in Nepal were works of art, and
the government provides grants to organizations
dedicated to providing a healthier environment
for the country. We visited Gandhi’s tomb and
other historic sites. We went north to the festival
in Dehra Dun, at the monastery that serves as
Janise Baldo ’80 visited the Taj Mahal during a trip to India and Nepal in 2017. Read a full update from Janise in the 1980 log.
FALL 2021 67
material together for the column. Here’s some
good news to share…
“Almost exactly two years ago, the young man
who was courting our daughter Rachel went on
a walk with me, and privately — not to mention
properly — asked me for her hand in marriage.
Timothy Hufford is a brilliant young man, cur-
rently pursuing a doctorate in molecular biology
at the University of Maryland. My wife Teresa
and I (and Rachel, too!) were quite impressed
with this gentleman, whose list of accomplish-
ments include playing jazz trumpet, as well as
achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. They met by
happenstance while swing dancing in a Glen
Echo ballroom. Happily granting my permission
as father of the bride-to-be, they were engaged
by September 2019, just as I was returning to
work at AT&T as a contractor in October. The
happy couple began their wedding and honey-
moon planning immediately for their May 2021
nuptials. Rachel — a Washington, D.C.-based
architectural engineer — started filling out the
spreadsheets and project plans. Together, they
explored the wedding expos and various venues
and churches, signed up for their Pre-Cana coun-
seling, and began budgeting for what was to be a
150-invited-guests event.
“Fast forward through 2020, when the
pandemic restrictions were placed — and after
several contracts had already been signed for
catering, photography, etc. Despite these chal-
lenges, what we ended up with was an elegant
and fun gathering of over 80 [built-in social
distancing!] family members and friends from a
dozen states who gathered in Towson, Mary-
land, for a long-awaited celebration. That very
weekend coincided with the lifting of local/state/
church mask restrictions for the vaccinated (and
the entire wedding party, and nearly all of the
guests, had already received their “jabs”).
“Dancing with Rachel that evening, I asked her
whether all the planning of 18+ months had paid
off; her grinning reply: ‘This is all that we wanted
— and more!’ Yours truly even got a bird’s-eye
view from the choir loft by singing (at their spe-
cific request) during Communion.
“After honeymooning in Hawaii, Rachel
wanted to review the project budget in detail to
provide a baseline (for her sister’s future use),
and despite coming in on time and under budget,
one of the key learnings we’ll cover is having a
contingency fund — along with a risk assessment
for a global event (e.g., the pandemic) ...!
“We recently got the photographer’s official
portfolio, so we’ll share a couple of them with
this column. You should be able to spot Gary Jeger in at least one of them. Here’s hoping we
get to see each other in the upcoming year, in
person, in Hoboken.”
On my end, our oldest son, Brandon Gomes,
received his bachelor of science degree, magna
cum laude (double major in mathematics and
physics) from Rutgers University in the midst of
the pandemic. He was also inducted into Phi Beta
Kappa. It was all virtual for him, but we made the
best of it. Our youngest, Adrian Gomes, will re-
turn to in-person classes as a junior at Stevens in
the fall. The last time he was on campus, he was
a freshman in his first semester! We look forward
to their future adventures and endeavors.
That’s all for now. We are still hoping for some
in-person festivities for our 40th anniversary.
We will keep you informed as we work with Ste-
vens on possibilities. Meantime, we would love to
hear from you. Send me an email with some news
and we’ll include it in future logs. You can also
join us on our Class of ’81 Facebook page.
— Gloria M. Ron-Fornes, [email protected]
’86 July 2021 — Rick Rieping, who is
senior director, Applications
Delivery & Support, with the
Governor’s Office of Information Technology for
Don’t see your class log listed? Send an update to [email protected] or call 201-216-5161.
1 David Ritter ’81 dances with daughter Rachel at her wedding this past May. 2 Rachel Ritter and husband Timothy Hufford greet loved ones on their wedding day this past May in Towson, Maryland. 3 Gloria Ron-Fornes ’81, husband Hugo Gomes and their son, Brandon, at his graduation from Rutgers. 4 Gloria with her son, Adrian, Stevens Class of 2023.
68 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
the State of Colorado, received the State Lead-
ership of the Year award in a national awards
program earlier this year. The annual StateScoop
50 Awards honor the best and the brightest
who make state government more efficient and
effective. The awards celebrate the outstanding
achievements of peers and acknowledge tireless
efforts to make a positive impact in the govern-
ment IT community and in public service.
Rieping was one of four Coloradans recog-
nized in the awards program, which is sponsored
by StateScoop, a media company that reports on
news and events related to IT issues within state
and local government. State and local IT shops
across the U.S. nominated thousands of inspiring
leaders and influential projects for the awards
earlier this year. StateScoop then narrowed the
list to 180 finalists, and readers cast more than 3
million votes to select the winners.
According to his bio in the awards program,
“Rick Rieping understands the importance of
asking the right questions — and listening intent-
ly — to bring a team together and successfully
deliver IT solutions. He strives to keep his teams
focused on implementing innovative software for
agency customers, and in turn, transform service
delivery to all Coloradans. His organized ap-
proach to application and business management
and his ability to identify simple changes to com-
plex processes makes the work manageable and
sustainable, which is a rare skill. Rick’s temporal
precedence style allows him to skillfully identify
and refine processes — both internally and for
OIT’s vendor partners — to foster a culture of
continuous improvement and innovation.”
In other class news, the “Bate House” — Beta
Theta Pi fraternity— held a recent golf outing.
Attending were Pete Ahimovic, Doug Lionetti, Chris DiGerolamo, Mark Kudlacik ’85, Steve Heck ’85, Don Heck ’91, Greg Davis ’83 and
Steve Davis ’85. — Debi Motler, [email protected]
’89 July 13, 2021 — Hello, folks! It’s
super hot and humid here
in Annapolis, with temps
hovering around 92 degrees Fahrenheit. I hope
it has cooled down by the time you all read this
and that you have had a fun, relaxed summer.
I caught up with several classmates during the
pandemic as I had some extra time on my hands.
Here is the first installment.
Darin Kalashian writes: “I had the good
fortune to catch up with Dawn after the holidays
and revisit all the great memories from our time
at Stevens. After years of reading the many
updates from everyone, I knew it was my time to
share my own journey post-Stevens.
“After graduation, I moved
to Massachusetts to work for
Raytheon doing software and
system development, working
on FAA weather radar and air
traffic control systems. We
were bringing new innovations
to the market in the way of
digital transformations that
transitioned these antiquated
systems away from WWII
technology to high-end digital
‘video game’-like systems.
As we took these systems to
the commercial market, I still
remember the feedback from
a requirements-gathering field
trip to a customer’s air traffic control tower, where
we observed their primary green-sweep display
showing what we thought was a lot of clutter (noise
in a radar speak/white clouds on the display) —
only to be told that was where the display had
‘burned out.’ They didn’t fly the planes through that
part of the screen. I was very proud to be making
world air travel safer!
“As we did a lot of work around the world, I
remember a trip to Spain, where Scot Pritchard
joined me and we took in many of the sights
of Spain, from the Cathedral in Toledo to the
World’s Fair in Seville to the Costa del Sol on the
Mediterranean.
“I left Raytheon to go develop the electronic
highway, the internet, with Rupert Murdock at
Delphi Internet, to bring the first commercial web
browser to market. I had gotten into software
test automation back then, and I remember being
paid to ‘surf the internet.’ I had wished there was
some more interesting content back then and
that we had something faster than 2,400 baud
modems, but that was the price for being an early
adopter.
“My career took many steps and turns, work-
ing for some great companies like MathWorks,
Bose, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard and RSA. At
Bose, we were developing customized audio
solutions for the automotive manufacturers. I
remember one project that was assigned to me
where we had to travel to Germany, take a new
Maserati prototype out on the Autobahn and
validate our system performance and tuning.
Being paid to drive fast, listen to music and play
with the latest technology was as good as it could
get for me.
“I am currently at VMware, leading a team
working on some innovative solutions in the Big
The Rev. Gabriel Costa '70 M.S. '72 Ph.D. '84 meets Kate Duncan '98 M.Eng. '99 at West Point this summer, where Father Costa is a mathematics professor and Kate a visiting research fellow. Read more about Kate on page 28.
Beta Theta Pi fraternity recently held a golf outing. Some 1980s alumni made a fine turnout. From left are Steve Heck ‘85, Pete Ahimovic ‘86, Chris DiGerolamo ‘86, Greg Davis ‘83, Steve Davis ‘85, Doug Lionetti ’86 and Don Heck ‘91.
FALL 2021 69
Data arena. Working remotely is challenging, but
working with some great people and applying the
next generation of technology keeps it exciting.
“While at Raytheon I met my wife, Patty, who
was a nurse at Children’s Hospital in Boston; we
are closing in on our 25th anniversary. Patty’s
skills were invaluable as we raised our two kids,
Meghan and Dan, who are now getting ready to
enter their senior year in high school. Living in
New England, we are very fortunate to have so
many outdoor activities to split our time across.
The four seasons allow us to beach down at the
Cape, leaf peep in the fall, ski in the winter and
renew in the spring. Patty and I have passed our
passion for the outdoors onto our kids. We had
our kids on skis at three years, and now they out-
ski us on the slopes. North Conway, New Hamp-
shire, has become our second home, up in the
White Mountains of New Hampshire. We hike,
mountain bike, ski and river tube in this beautiful
valley setting. Never seems like there is enough
time to do it all! Like so many others during these
times, we adopted a brown chocolate lab pup,
Maggie, from a rescue in Georgia, and have
been introducing her to the winters here in New
England. I think she likes the snow!
“The pandemic has been a challenge, though I
have broken up the time by taking to the kitchen.
I have enjoyed cooking up some lost recipes of
traditional Armenian favorites from my parents
and grandparents. It helps get me away from
Zoom. While at home, I have also found time to
reconnect with classmates, most recently Dawn
and Ron Mahaffey. Through the years I have
always truly enjoyed the updates in the class log.
One of my favorites was the log where everyone
recounted the highlights of our times at Stevens;
the antics of Yevick, structures and Chang, to
name a few. This validated to my family that the
stories I have been telling them for years were all
true. The bowling ball, the singing of ‘Row, Row,
Row Your Boat’ and the ‘bridge falls down and you
want partial credit’ — it was all true!
“The easiest way to find me is via LinkedIn, so
please don’t hesitate to reach out as I’d love to
reconnect. Please keep your updates coming to
the class log. Stay well and safe, and as I am sure
we all are, looking forward to post-pandemic life!”
Happy to say it feels 95% back to normal for
me, and I hope for all of you! I would be remiss if
I also didn’t extend a personal thanks to all of you
that made the Power of Stevens campaign a HUGE
success! Over $200 million was raised that will
directly benefit scholarships, programs, buildings
and more. Stevens is continually improving for
the better, my friends; you are making it happen! — Dawn Madak, [email protected]
’95 June 2021 — Becky Seitzmeyer
reports: “It’s been four years
since I met my 14-year-old
son, Samuel, at a Lego Adoption Match event.
This photo was taken at age 11 in 2019 prior to
adoption finalization. Sam is now 6 feet tall and
weighs over 200 pounds!” — Sarah G. Warnes, [email protected]
’96 June 3, 2021 — Stephanie (Ry-der) Reyes passed away at age
46 on October 28, 2020. She
left behind two children, Christopher and Isabella,
her husband Jose, and brother Michael Ryder ’91.
Becky Seitzmeyer ’95 writes, “I’d not spoken
with her in over 20 years. We used to be good
friends and had a lot of fun! [In the submitted
photo on page 70], we are in her bedroom at Phi
Sigma Sigma in 1993, about to cheer on Chi Phi
in an inter-fraternity sports game.” — Michael L. Andreano, [email protected]
’98 July 2021 — Carl ’96 and Liz Alfaro are the owners of
Conclave Brewing in Raritan
Township, New Jersey. Before the COVID-19
pandemic, Conclave was jammed into a
1,000-square-foot industrial park space next to
their current home — a space so small that the
1 Darin Kalashian ’89 celebrates a softball championship back in 2019 or, in his own words, the “most elusive 2019 Softball Championship celebra-tion (15 years in the making).” 2 Darin Kalashian ’89 and his family hike in Cathedral Ledge State Park in the White Mountains in New Hampshire. From left, Darin, son Daniel, daughter Meghan and wife Patty.
Don’t see your class log listed? Send an update to [email protected] or call 201-216-5161.
Becky Seitzmeyer ’95 with her son, Sam-uel, back in 2011. Read more from Becky in the ’95 and ’96 logs.
70 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
brewing area doubled as the taproom. In Febru-
ary 2020, the brewery expanded into the former
home of the Center for Educational Advance-
ment (CEA), an 8,000-square-foot space featur-
ing a basketball court-sized taproom, light-filled
picture windows and a 30-foot-long-concrete
bar, as well as two outdoor beer gardens. Murals
painted by CEA students with the help of a local
artist remain visible.
Carl and Liz finished Conclave’s renovations
about a month before COVID-19 concerns forced
them to shut their doors.
“It was gut-wrenching,” Carl said. “You work
so hard for over a year to build it and get the
plans approved. We had to take our business
model, scrap it and try something different.”
Phi Sigma Sigma sorority sisters, from left, Jennifer Garner ’98, Cindy Rugys ’97, Stephanie (Ryder) Reyes ’96 and Becky Seitzmeyer ’95. Sadly, Stephanie passed away in October 2020.
from the American Chemical Society. Samantha
celebrated her fifth work anniversary at Picatinny
Arsenal as a mechanical engineer and project
lead. They are looking forward to moving into
their first home together later this year.
2021 has also been an exciting year for Shane Arlington B.E. ’16 B.S. ’16 M.S. ’16 and Eugenia
Volkova B.E. ’15 M.S. ’16, who celebrated their
fifth wedding anniversary in May. They also
welcomed a new addition to their family in Jan-
uary, a rescue puppy named Freya. They believe
Freya is a mix of lab and hound, and she’s on her
way to being a running partner for both Eugenia
and Shane. They both aim to defend their Ph.D.
dissertations by the end of 2021 or early 2022
and are excited for their next steps in academia
or beyond.
This summer, Sarah Zahran ’17 completed
an eight-week artist residency hosted by fellow
Stevens alum Bob Reed ’70 and his wife, Elaine,
in Wiscasset, Maine. Sarah was the first artist
to occupy the newly built creativity shed, New
Beginnings. She used this time to explore her
Conclave pivoted to online sales after the
Alfaros built a new platform for the service.
“Online sales were huge,” they said. “It was
literally because of the local community and our
loyal customers that we were able to survive.”
To learn more about Conclave Brewing, visit
www.conclavebrewing.com. (This log adapted
from an article by Jenna Intersimone at https://
www.mycentraljersey.com.) — Anthony Garofa-lo, III, [email protected]
’10July 2021 — Here’s an update from
Victoria (O’Connor) Blazeski ’11
and George Blazeski M.Eng. ’11.
“We have moved back to New Jersey and are
excited to see all of our fellow alumni in person
again. Last year, we welcomed Erik to the family,
and his brother Liam is very excited. See you in
the fall. — [email protected]
’15 July 2021 — Brandon Griffin ’15 M.S.’18 recently left his posi-
tion at Stevens and moved to
Davenport, Florida, to be the director of Student
Services for Keiser University. His new role will
oversee orientation, graduation, student life,
career development, corporate partnerships and
more. — Mark L. Scalzo, [email protected]; Danielle M. DeFeo, [email protected]
’16 July 2021 — Shawn Maguire B.E.
’16 M.S. ’18 and Samantha Mar-kowitz B.E. ’16 M.S. ’20 are ex-
cited to share news from 2021. Shawn defended
his Ph.D. thesis from the University of Pennsylva-
nia in August 2021, for which he won a top award
Editor’s Note: We heard from the now-alumna whose photo opened the Alumni News section of the Spring/Summer 2021 issue:
“Hi, that picture is me! Susan Mary Geraldi Francomano ’80. I was the editor of the 1980 Link, and I am carrying a bag of year-book items. The one hanging out of the top of the bag is a cropping ruler used in the old days to crop photos. Thanks for including me in this special issue. I am very proud to have attended Stevens.”
Frank Roberto ’76, left, and Derek Wheeler ’96, right, were having lunch in Spring, Texas, this summer when they happened to meet Alex Sota ’10. Derek works with ExxonMobil, Frank recently retired from the company and Alex works with Hewlett Packard.
FALL 2021 71
creative practice and build up a body of work:
drawings, paintings and sculptures. But perhaps
more importantly, the time served as an import-
ant pause — a time for introspection and consid-
eration before embarking on the next chapter of
her journey. — Kathleen Moyer Vanderburgh, [email protected]
’21June 3, 2021 — From Nicole Kuzler: “I was a recipient of
the ASSP Foundation/ASSP
New York City Chapter Scholarship. I am very
appreciative of this honor and generous gift. Being
a member of this organization has allowed me
to connect and network with astounding safety
industry professionals. Having taken many safety
courses in college and with the support of the
ASSP Foundation, I am confident that I will have
high awareness for safe practices on my jobsites.
I am truly humbled to enter this industry and work
alongside professionals of all levels of experience.
“I am looking forward to being an active
member in the ASSP organization as I begin my
career in the construction industry. Receiving
this award validates my decision to enter this
field. Especially, as a woman in this industry, I
will advocate for a safe workplace and ensure my
voice is heard. I am eager to continue expand-
ing my knowledge about engineering codes,
standards and safeguards. I would like to thank
my professors and mentors Professor Joseph
Schwed, Dr. Ellyn Lester and Dr. Leslie Brunell for
recommending me for this distinction. In addition
to my education through the Construction Engi-
neering and Management program at Stevens, I
also have field experience from internships that
I am excited to build upon during my full-time
employment opportunity. I am the first engineer
in my family, and I am proud to represent such
an amazing profession. I plan to challenge myself
in this new role and hopefully get to encourage
other young women like me to join this incredi-
bly supportive organization.” — Sarah Bertussi, [email protected]
1 Victoria (O’Connor) Blazeski ’11 and George Blazeski ’10 M.Eng. ’11 welcomed their second son, Erik, last year. He joins big brother Liam. 2 Shane Arlington ’16 M.S. ’16 and Eugenia Volkova ’15 M.S. ’16 recently celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary and welcomed a new rescue puppy, Freya. Read more in the ’16 log. 3 Stephanie (Miller) Sota ’11 and Alex Sota ’10 recently welcomed a son, Austin, who is seen with big sister Adelyn. 4 Sarah Zahran ’17 and her art in the New Beginnings creativity shed, Wiscasset, Maine. Sarah completed a residency there this summer, sponsored by Elaine and Bob Reed ’70.
Don’t see your class log listed? Send an update to [email protected] or call 201-216-5161.
72 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
My mother has enjoyed a long career in edu-cation. Because of this, I’m privileged with the perspective she first instilled in me to always keep learning. Whenever possible, I aim to teach and learn from the perspec-
tives of others. This lifelong commitment to learning has allowed me to share some of the skills, perspectives, relationships and ex-periences that have proven invaluable to me.
I interned at my firm over a decade ago and now serve as vice president, with a role in hiring. But throughout my career, I’ve had to navigate being the “only” in the room or at the table. I’ve felt the pressure to combat negative stereotypes. I’ve had the awkward conversations correcting the mispronunciation of my phonetically spelled name. At every step of the way, I’ve found it necessary to arrive honestly and authentically in every seat that I’ve occupied — because representation is critical.
But I’ve also benefited from learning from tremendous, diverse mentors and have always felt a responsibility to lift others as I’ve climbed. My experiences have offered a perspective that is important to developing more community and more equity within the finance profession for women — particularly women of color. For the past doz-en years that I’ve climbed, mis-stepped and climbed again, I’ve found it refreshing and important to my own professional and personal de-velopment to see a growing number of women in leadership.
Recently, I was pleasantly surprised to learn from a new hire that she was so affected by my wearing my natural hair regularly that she
shared with her family that her hiring manager is Black and wears a head wrap. Again, representation — no matter how big or small — is critical. It is important for the next generation of leaders to see that this is an organization and a career where they can not only learn and grow, but also arrive authentically.
I will always fight for increasing equity in my field as well as oth-ers. That’s why I’m a longtime supporter of the Stevens Technical En-richment Program (STEP). I often reflect back on the program, which gave me access to environments, opportunities and perspectives I would not have had otherwise.
I was born, raised and currently live in a busy, diverse inner city. As a student, I demonstrated sufficient knowledge to be inducted into Chi Epsilon, the civil engineering honor society. But despite that knowledge, when I was invited to the induction, I was told the attire was “country club casual.” “Country club casual” is a string of words that, at the time, I’d never heard put together before — and for which I had zero context.
Part of the reason I pledge support to STEP is because I view the program as providing soft skills and disrupting systems that have not always allowed access for people who look like me.
I am thankful for the program and its participants because through them, the program has the potential to bring more skill and more eq-uity into the workforce by supporting diverse talent and cultivating current and future leaders. — Khadeejah Granderson-Bilal '09
Khadeejah Granderson-Bilal is the regional head of Regulatory Middle Office, Goldman Sachs Asset Management Operations, Goldman Sachs, Jersey City, New Jersey.
A Final Thought
Khadeejah Granderson-Bilal ’09, standing second from right, with honoree Leanne Metcalfe ’00 and STEP alumni, students, supporters and staff at the 2019 Stevens Awards Gala.
Inspiration Through Representation
A L U M N I A S S O C I A T I O N
P E R A S P E R A A D A S T R A
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: JUNE 3-4, 2022
Please visit us at stevens.edu/alumni for all the latest information from around our alumni community.
• See what’s changed on campus since your time as students
• Sample some of the finest wines and beers during our ever-popular tastings
• Rekindle that special connection with fellow members of your on-campus affinity groups
• Celebrate milestone reunions with classmates near and far
• Dance the night away with old friends and new ones
• And much more!
Red and Gray Days makes a much-anticipated return to Castle Point next June! We are excited to welcome you back to Hoboken, back to campus, back HOME.
Alumni Weekend 2022 will be our biggest and best yet, featuring a schedule packed with fun-filled activities and celebrations for the whole family to enjoy. Whatever your interests, we have something for everyone!
Your generous support of The Power of Stevens campaign has changed the face of our university. 158 new scholarships to assist students in need. 18 new named fellowships and chairs bringing prestige to faculty and enhancing their groundbreaking work. Renovations to 100% of Stevens’ classrooms. Two new community-anchoring towers rising proudly above the Hudson. This is just a snapshot of what your gifts have achieved.
Thank you for your loyalty and participation, year after year. Thank you for contributing your time as volunteers and advocates. Thank you for sharing your stories and inspiring others. Thank you for providing the energy that will power Stevens’ future.
OUR COMMUNITY. THAT'S THE POWER OF STEVENS.power.stevens.edu
OUR CAMPAIGN.OUR IMPACT.
OUR CAMPAIGN.OUR IMPACT.
OUR CAMPAIGN.OUR IMPACT.
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